John O'Mahony
Question:1181 Deputy John O’Mahony asked the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs the procedures in place to ensure personal data stored by his Department is secure. [30126/08]
View answerWednesday, 24 September 2008
Questions (1089, 1090)
Written answers
I can confirm to the Deputy that all electronic personal files are maintained through the Human Resources Management System (Peoplesoft), which is maintained centrally by the Department of Finance. Access to this system within my Department is granted to HR staff only. This is limited by User Profiles, sign-on and passwords which have an expiry date. In addition, users are locked out after three unsuccessful attempts.
The personal files in paper format are held in locked cabinets in the Personnel Units which can only be accessed by HR staff. Salaries files are maintained in a similar fashion, with HR staff having limited access to certain areas of the electronic salary system (Corepay). These are also password protected.
All data protection requirements are met in relation to personal data held by the Department, and the Department is registered with the Data Protection Commission.
Access to the Department's computer system is password restricted and access to data is defined by each users role. Users are only granted access to applications relevant to their function. Audit trails are enabled on all applications.
John O'Mahony
Question:1182 Deputy John O’Mahony asked the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs the number of laptop computers, data storage devices and USB memory sticks that have been stolen or lost from his Department in 2007 and to date in 2008; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30141/08]
View answerI am informed that no laptop computers, data storage devices or USB memory sticks were lost or stolen from my Department in either 2007 or to date in 2008.