Neasa Hourigan
Question:
282. Deputy Neasa Hourigan asked the Minister for Justice if his Department has consulted the Data Protection Commissioner or carried out a data protection impact assessment in relation to the property marking scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20367/23]
View answer
Regrettably, the information sought by the Deputy is still awaited from the Garda authorities. I will contact the Deputy directly once the information is to hand.
The following deferred reply was received under Standing Order 51.
As you will be aware, property marking is a process where a physical mark is made on a piece of property (e.g. bike, laptop, plant machinery, etc.) which is etched into the property. It is very difficult to remove and can be repeated a number of times on the one item. The mark is made by a specially designed machine which embosses the property item with small dots in the pattern of the owner’s Eircode. I can inform you that my Department has provided grant funding to Property Marking Ireland (PMI), the trading name of Community Services Network (CSN). CSN is a not-for-profit organisation whose initial focus has been on the enhancement of security and the feelings of security in communities, households and businesses. The main focus of CSN is on its property marking service under the name PMI.
PMI approached my Department for funding in early 2022 with the purpose of the application being to expand the service from the then currently available 12 counties (with a further six in progress) to all 26 counties. PMI has developed links with local authorities through the Joint Policing Committees, as well as community groups such as Men’s Sheds, the Irish Farmers Association (IFA), Community Alert and Neighbourhood Watch. PMI also work with An Garda Síochána to raise awareness of the service, which is generally free of charge for household items, and An Garda Síochána organise events around the country to make it available to the community.
Whilst my Department agreed to provide grant funding of €300,000 to the scheme for a period of four years, after which it is envisaged the scheme will become self-financing, my Department has no direct role in the operation or the availability of the property marking service. I would encourage anyone interested in the service to contact PMI directly, further details are available on their website:
https://propertymarking.ie/how-it-works/?et_open_tab=et_pb_tab_1#my-tabs|1
You may also be aware that An Garda Síochána launched a separate service in September 2022 called the Property App. This is a free app that provides the facility to record and index the unique information associated with a person’s property. Should any items be stolen, the app also provides a way of reporting this to An Garda Síochána and gives users the option to share information with Gardaí for this purpose.
I am informed by the Garda authorities that a Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) was conducted on the Property App. Further information in relation to the storage and sharing of data, in compliance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the Data Protection Act 2018, and relevant sections of the Garda Síochána Act 2005 (as amended), is available on the private policy statement for the Property App. Further information can be accessed on the Garda website:
https://garda.ie/en/angardasiochanaapp/
I trust this information is of assistance.
