Data Protection

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 15 July 2014

Tuesday, 15 July 2014

Ceisteanna (590)

Pádraig MacLochlainn

Ceist:

590. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if her attention has been drawn to reports that surveillance equipment was illegally installed in an office used by maintenance staff at Letterkenny General Hospital, that this procedure is in breach of EU conventions and all international protocols on workers' rights, that it is a criminal act to spy on workers in this manner, that it is in breach of all data protection legislation and is unprecedented in the State; the action she will take on the illegal operation of the camera; the date on which the Garda was made aware of the incident; the extent to which its investigation is proceeding; and if the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner is carrying out its own investigation. [31447/14]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Justice and Equality

While the Deputy will appreciate that I am not in a position as Minister to interpret the law or to provide advice in relation to a particular case in response to a Parliamentary Question, I can say that the Data Protection Acts 1988 and 2003 generally apply to the recording of personal images by means of video cameras unless the recording activity relates to an individual's own personal, family or recreational activities.

Enforcement of the Data Protection Acts 1988 and 2003 in this jurisdiction is a matter for the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner. The Commissioner is independent in the performance of his statutory functions and the exercise of his statutory powers and it would not be appropriate, therefore, for me to interfere in specific cases. The statutory powers of the Commissioner include the investigation of complaints concerning any alleged infringements of the Data Protection Acts.