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Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 12 Mar 1996

Vol. 462 No. 8

Written Answers. - Data Protection Act.

Thomas P. Broughan

Ceist:

195 Mr. Broughan asked the Minister for Justice if the Adoption Board is excluded from the Data Protection Act; and if so, under which specific section. [5587/96]

The Data Protection Act, 1988 was enacted to regulate the collection, retention, processing, use and disclosure of certain information, relating to individuals, which is processed automatically. The Data Protection Act provides a personal right of access to information held on computer about oneself. Therefore, in so far as the Adoption Board processes information about identifiable living individuals on computer, it is governed by the requirements of the Data Protection Act, subject to the following exception.

The Data Protection Act, 1988 (Restriction of Section 4) Regulations, 1989 (S.I. No. 81 of 1989) provide that certain existing enactments which prohibit or restrict the disclosure of information, or authorise it to be withheld, continue to prevail notwithstanding the right of access to personal data conferred by section 4 of the Data Protection Act, 1988. The enactments relate to, inter alia, an index kept by An tArd-Chláraitheoir under section 22 (5) of the Adoption Act, 1952.

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