Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 27 February 2024
53. Deputy Cormac Devlin asked the Taoiseach the location of the data centre or centres used by his Department; the reason it was chosen; the distance it is from his Department’s offices; if he will identify the centres used by each agency under his Department’s aegis; and the distance these data centres are to their offices; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9384/24]
View answerIn common with other Government Departments, the Department of the Taoiseach has in place comprehensive arrangements to support Data security. Data is stored predominantly on Government Networks.
The Department of the Taoiseach receives regular advice on these matters from the relevant authorities, including the Office of the Government Chief Information Officer and the National Cyber Security Centre. It is not the practice, for sound operational and security reasons, to disclose the detail of these arrangements.
The Department of the Taoiseach continues to leverage technologies available from cloud service providers in line with the stated advice of the Office of the Government Chief Information Officer.
The same approach applies to the National Economic and Social Development Office (NESDO), the only body under the aegis of the Department of the Taoiseach.
The Department of the Taoiseach has a Business Continuity Plan, which is kept under review, and storage facilities based in other Government Departments are used for this purpose.
Neither this Department nor NESDO currently provide digital services directly to the public and therefore are less reliant on data centres. See: www.whatever.ie
