Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 4 November 2014
1148. Deputy Mary Mitchell O'Connor asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht when records withdrawn from a website (detials supplied) will be restored; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [41912/14]
View answerThe provision of access to the records referred to by the Deputy was a joint project between the Department of Social Protection, the General Register Office and my Department. Access by my Department to the records was facilitated by the General Register Office in accordance with the terms of a Memorandum of Understanding agreed between both parties. In July last, my Department was contacted by the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner, expressing concerns about the availability of personal data in relation to living persons on the website. My Department responded promptly by disabling access to the data on a "without prejudice" basis, so that the nature of the concerns could be examined further. My Department is now in the process of finalising a number of issues regarding the placing of the records on-line and hopes to complete this process in the near future.
