Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 14 February 2019
96. Deputy Jan O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will insert a mandatory ethnic identifier in reporting by schools further to a review of the practice of reduced timetabling; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7509/19]
View answerUnder GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018, ethnicity is considered a special category of personal data and is subject to additional protections. Therefore information on pupil ethnicity can only be collected and reported on a voluntary basis, with the explicit consent of a pupil's parent(s) or guardian(s).
My Department is engaging with the Department of Children and Youth Affairs and TUSLA Educational Welfare Service on the matter of reduced timetables with a view to examining options which can be taken to address the issues raised.
