Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 18 October 2022
554. Deputy John Lahart asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the proportion of his Department’s IT data that is stored in the cloud; the proportion of the data held by all agencies and subsidiaries of his Department in the cloud; if this represents an improvement; if so, the development that has been made towards cloud storage since 2019 to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51191/22]
View answerAs of December 2019, the Office of the Chief Government Information Officer (OGCIO) provide my Department with its core ICT services and supports including the provision of our main infrastructure and data storage.
My department does not measure the portion of data it holds in the cloud verses on premise, therefore it is not possible to provide the Deputy with a proportionate figure of the amount of departmental data stored in the cloud.
The OGCIO produced the Cloud Computing Advice Note in October 2019 which moved the debate on the use of cloud from whether we should use it to what, how and when we should move to the cloud.
While my Department makes use of cloud services, the focus is on using the cloud to deliver efficient digital services rather than using it for the storage of data, in line with Data Protection guidance.
In addition any decisions made in this regard must take in to account cyber security considerations. My Department engages closely with the OGCIO on the issue of cyber security, who in turn engage with the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) to ensure best practice is followed as it relates to all aspects of cyber security, including hacking threats.
The agencies under the remit of my Department are responsible for the management of their own ICT infrastructure and data storage. I have asked each one to respond to the Deputy directly.
