Data Protection

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 17 October 2023

Tuesday, 17 October 2023

Questions (437)

Peadar Tóibín

Question:

437. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine further to Parliamentary Question No. 482 of 3 October 2023, if he will provide detail on the nature of the data breaches suffered by his Department; the severity of the breaches; if all individuals whose information was compromised were notified of the breach; if the Data Protection Commission was notified of all data breaches; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45329/23]

Written answers

Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine

For operational and security reasons it is not considered appropriate to disclose specific details on the nature of data breaches experienced by my Department.

I can confirm that the majority of the data breaches were classified as low risk breaches. The Department did contact relevant individuals with respect to data breaches where it was deemed appropriate to do so, in line with GDPR requirements and the Data Protection Commission (DPC) advice in this area.

Similarly, the DPC was advised of data breaches in situations where it was deemed appropriate to do so.

I wish to assure the Deputy that my Department takes data protection very seriously, is committed to protecting the rights of all individuals and has many policies and procedures put in place to ensure compliance with Data Protection legislation.