Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)

There are not many laptops and, therefore, it is a priority. We are also engaged in a policy to restrict the usage of USB memory devices. Staff members who need such devices will be issued with encrypted devices and future usage will be restricted to them.

Laptops are generally used to access centrally stored information. No client data is retained on laptops. It was a highly unusual situation and we asked the Comptroller and Auditor General why all the encrypted information was downloaded to a laptop and made readable. This is the issue that caused concern for people. Given changing technologies, we must keep this policy firmly under review.

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