Vol. 531 No. 1
102 Mr. Naughten asked the Minister for Health and Children if, in view of an article in a newspaper (details supplied) on 5 February 2001, he will state the steps he has taken to ensure the use of his Department's e-mail and Internet facilities are properly regulated; if a policy on the use of these facilities exists; when the policy was last updated; when the policy was last circulated to staff; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5112/01]
My Department has modern up-to-date e-mail and Internet access facilities, which are widely used by staff in the day-to-day work of the organisation. To ensure the security of these facilities, content scanning of web and e-mail traffic, software firewalls and anti-virus software are in use. Regular checks are made to ensure that security is not breached.
At present no formal policy exists. However, staff are advised on a regular basis as to the correct use of departmental computer facilities and new staff are apprised of these procedures. These instructions are continuously available for viewing on the departmental intranet. The most recent update to these instructions were issued to all staff in September 2000.
