Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

The National Archives Act sets out the obligations on Departments to preserve records that are received or created in the course of performing official functions. One can then seek authorisation from the director of the National Archives prior to the destruction of any of these records. In other words, not all records per se must be archived and maintained, for obvious reasons. One can transfer to the national archives those records worthy of permanent preservation because of their ongoing value for administrative and historical research purposes when the records are 30 years old so they can be made available for public inspection and research use. There is an obligation to retain records and one has an opportunity to obtain the consent of the director of the archives to destroy records. There is also a requirement to transfer after 30 years those records that are relevant for historical research or other administrative reasons.

With respect to the management and preservation of electronic records, it is important to understand that while records in the past have been predominantly in hard copy format, time has not been as critical a factor in their preservation. The advent of electronic records has meant that it is not possible to wait until 30 years from creation to take measures to ensure preservation. By their nature, electronic records are more vulnerable to loss in the short term because of the nature of their composition. This brings into sharp relief the question of procedures to manage and preserve electronic records, preferably from the point of creation. Like all Departments, the Department has procedures in place to ensure the backing up and protection of electronic records created. The point to be made is that the question of regulations, and whether the Minister for Finance should in consultation with the director of the national archives for the proper management and preservation of departmental records provide for such regulations, is a matter for consideration at any time. The growing volume and trend of electronic storage of data may well require that something needs to be done.

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