Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 7 February 2017
88. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Taoiseach if he or any Minister of State in his Department uses a personal email account for work purposes; the security controls that are in place on the use of personal email accounts for Department-related business; and if his Department has a policy on this matter. [5297/17]
View answerI, and the Ministers of State assigned to my Department, have secure corporate email accounts assigned to us. These email accounts are only accessible via my Department’s secure network and remotely using official encrypted laptops and mobile devices. While in general corporate email accounts are used for official purposes, private email accounts may, on occasion, be used for official purposes for operational reasons.
My Department has detailed ICT policies relating to the use of email and the internet which are provided to all staff. These policies also deal with software downloads, media device usage, remote access and the security responsibility of users. The existing policies do not explicitly ban the use of unofficial email accounts for official purposes, but they do stipulate that individuals using the Department's electronic media should handle their communications with the same care as with any other type of business communications.
These policies are currently being reviewed and consolidated and text dealing explicitly with the use of unofficial email accounts for official purposes will be included in the consolidated policy.
