Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 4 November 2014
251. Deputy Mattie McGrath asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the basis on which her Department may request private bank statements from persons on jobseeker's allowance; the data protection measures that are in place to protect such sensitive information; if she will indicate what happens to the information after it has been used for claim assessment purposes; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42236/14]
View answerJobseekers allowance is a means-tested payment and is payable subject to a number of conditions. The rules in regard to means testing are contained in Part 2 of Schedule 3 of the SW Con Act 2005 as amended and in S.I. 142 of 2007, part 3, chapter 6, section 141 (1) onwards.
In order to decide on a jobseekers means it may be necessary for a deciding officer to seek verification details of savings and/or investments held in a financial institution and this may require the jobseeker having to supply a copy of relevant bank or other statements. Documentation provided by jobseekers in support of their claim is usually returned but, in some instances, copies of relevant documents/statements may be the held on file in the Intreo Centre. The Department takes its responsibilities in relation to data protection and protecting the data of its clients very seriously. Every effort is made to ensure that personal customer data is held securely and used solely for business purposes and that it is not compromised in any way.
In addition, it should be noted that the Department has data protection and information security policies, standards, procedures and guidelines in place governing the use of its computer systems and customer data. These are communicated on an ongoing basis to the staff of the Department and high standards are expected in relation to the handling and processing of personal client information.
