Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I want to take the opportunity to ask the Minister of State about a serious data breach I read about at the weekend and which deeply shocked me. A story was carried on the front page of The Sunday Times, Ireland edition, in which all of the details of an asylum seeker's stay in Ireland, various applications made and travel between Ireland and other countries were disclosed in detail. This information may have emanated from a public body. I have honestly never seen such a disclosure of information before. It should be borne in mind that staff in the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection, for example, and perhaps staff in other Departments, have actually been brought before the courts, charged and found guilty of breaching the privacy of individuals. That this has happened in the wake of the GDPR legislation is really shocking.

The Minister of State is responsible for data matters and I am surprised that the Department of Justice and Equality, which is the line Department for people in the asylum process, has not mentioned this matter. I have been waiting all week for the Minister for Justice and Equality to announce an investigation into this story. It is actually a disgrace.

It concerns an asylum seeker who is standing for the local elections in the north inner city, something she is perfectly entitled to do having been resident in Ireland for a long period while her case is being addressed. From the story, she appears to be still in direct provision. All of the details of her movement between Africa, Ireland and the United Kingdom over many years are set out in great detail in a way I have never seen before. I am simply astonished. I want to ask the Minister of State in the House who is responsible for data protection about it. It cannot have escaped the attention of the civil servants and of members of the Government who read newspapers that this is an extraordinary story of a data breach relating to an individual. Will the Minister of State have an inquiry carried out into this story? Will the Minister of State ask his colleague in government, the Minster for Justice and Equality, to undertake the inquiry?

As a matter of confidence it is really important for people to know that their data is treated with seriousness, respect and confidentiality. That is vital and it should always be the case.

I am unsure where the story came from, but it is extraordinarily detailed in a way that indicates some of the details must have come from files held somewhere about this individual. I believe she is owed an apology in this regard. Otherwise, the matter needs to be clarified in light of all the rhetoric of the Government about data protection and the protection of the rights of individuals under the general data protection regulation. I find it astonishing and I would like the Minister of State to address the matter. He must be aware of this story about a woman called Ellie Kisyombe. Apparently, she is originally from Malawi but has been an asylum seeker in Ireland and in direct provision for a period with her family. She is running for one of the political parties in this House – the Social Democrats – in the north inner city in Dublin. Her personal data has been disclosed in the article. I simply cannot believe that this could happen. There is no point in all this talk about data protection and data respect and so on unless some kind of explanation is forthcoming.

As a matter of correction, I wish to point out that when the public services card was introduced it was brought in by the then Department of Social Protection. It is not an identity card. There was no requirement in law on anyone to provide it under a range of circumstances.

When the current Minister came to office in the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection she decided it may be required. It was never required previously. Let us consider this. The people who use the public services card most are those over 66 years of age who use it for free travel. The public services card has allowed people who use free travel privately to get on a bus, train or any other form of public transport that qualifies. They can use their card without anyone else on the bus being aware of the person's private details. That is as it should be. It allows significant numbers of retired people, pensioners and people who have travel passes because they are ill or have long-term illness conditions to move around on public transport in Ireland with a great deal of personal dignity and privacy. That was not always the case previously when other arrangements were in place.

A particular idea seems to be creeping in to the effect that the public services card is some kind of identity card. I agree with the comments made by previous speakers to the effect that this is not its legal function. It seems some people are trying to pretend that since the Department of Expenditure and Reform has taken over the card, it can basically be a catch-all card for everything and anything in the State.

Obviously, passports or driving licences are used for identity purposes. All I can say is that common sense should prevail in how people are asked to use and register for the card. For example, there are many people who have various illnesses or conditions or who may be of advanced years. They may wish to deal with the difference offices in a particular way and there is nothing wrong with that. The card has to be used by public consent. There should be no coercion of people. Other identity mechanisms have been referred to.

The Department of Public Expenditure and Reform took over the card. It may be better left to Departments that deal with large amounts of public data, for example, the Revenue Commissioners, the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection or the health authorities. They probably have far more experience of the range of citizens and other people who present for different services and how their needs should be dealt with by public officials. They know this should not be done in a coercive way but in an inclusive way. The approach should provide them with the services that, as citizens of the State or people living here, they are entitled to access. Respect is the key point in that regard. There should be some consideration by the Minister of State of how respect for citizens is made clear and is at the core of how citizens are dealt with by public bodies, especially when it comes to use of their data. There is a long tradition of this approach among those in the Revenue Commissioners and in Departments like the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection.

This may be something that the staff taking over this function might like to consider. There are many people in Ireland who have no access to their data. I am referring to people who are adopted. They cannot access their data. They are not allowed to access their data by law. We are one of the few countries in the world that does not have an access policy for adopted people to access to their own information. The Government should be a little less preachy and a lot more practical in terms of demonstrating respect for citizens and their data, their rights to access data and how public bodies and authorities approach people and share data.

I am glad to see an oversight board is provided for in the Bill. That is a good development. In any event, I hope that ordinary citizens with a range of qualifications and ages are on that board so that they can give voice to how people should be treated properly when they approach public offices for services.

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