Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

It should be noted that we have just come through a presidential election in which one candidate made wild and wrong allegations about, for instance, the Traveller community as a whole. It says something about data in Ireland that many people believed much of the negative trolling on social media and the different stories that had currency. It was a terrible period for people from the Traveller community because of the way in which they were maligned. This ought to be revisited and an accurate reflection given of Travellers' relationship with the State for good and for bad because it was very unfair to so many from that community who work very hard, do their best for their children and are very good, law-abiding citizens of the State.

In my years in the Department of Social Protection, I was very conscious as Minister of the fact that the Department held a vast amount of data on a substantial percentage of the population. As Minister, I made a decision after ten years or more of a project to consider whether to move to a modern personal services card, which has been subject to legislation and protection in terms of people's data. In a way this brings out the key issue in this legislation. We want to be able to use modern IT in the most efficient way possible for the sharing and use of information in a beneficial way. This is very important. It is now so easy for retired people, for instance, to get on a bus or a train if they have their personal services card, to get a private service whereby they can just go quietly, get their train ticket or get on the bus and travel and carry that out without anyone else who is using the transport being aware in any way of what their status might be. That is as it should be.

When I came into the Department in 2011, however, I remember being horrified by the briefing I received on a number of cases dating back quite a number of years in which data had been accessed and which were over the years, rightly, the subject of a number of court cases. Whether out of curiosity, because of personal relationships or for other reasons, certain people in the employ of the Department saw fit to access individuals' data, but it is wrong of any public servant to do so. The IT was tightened up considerably in my time such that if one accesses a file, one leaves a trace on the file. The same probably applies nowadays to the Garda. Therefore, if something gets out about an individual that is a breach of his or her data, that can be tracked and traced. It is very important that the Minister of State gives us an assurance that this has been done.

I have a proposal to make in this respect. I notice there is to be a data governance board within the framework of the Bill. My understanding is that this may be within the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform. Is it correct that that will be the home Department?

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