Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Thursday, 9 December 2021

Public Accounts Committee

2020 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 37 - Social Protection
Chapter 9 - Regularity of Social Welfare Payments
Chapter 10 - Management of Social Welfare Appeals
Chapter 11 - Controls Over the Covid-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment

9:30 am

Mr. John McKeon:

We were concerned when we were sending staff home with PCs and other devices that we did not want the capability of local copies of data in people's homes. So, the protocol we put in place was a particular form of remote access where all the data are still in the Department's premises and, as the Deputy described it, the local PC in the person's home is just literally a screen. No data transfer between the machine in the office and the machine at home. That was the protocol we set up. We have since got the secure laptops which will do away with the need to keep the-----