Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael)

The CSO has received correspondence from the public expressing concerns that the Irish census data are being processed by a United States company and that this information could ultimately be used by United States national security. I assure the Deputy that those concerns are entirely inaccurate on two counts. First, CACI Limited is a corporate United Kingdom entity and is subject to the laws of that jurisdiction; it is not subject to the laws of the United States. CACI International, an American parent company, is not involved in any way in the preparation or delivery of systems for the Irish census. Second, the United States PATRIOT Act applies only to data held in information technology systems owned and operated by the company. This does not apply to the processing of census 2011 and under no circumstances could the Act be employed to request data held by the CSO.

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