Michael Moynihan (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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4. To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources to set out how privacy concerns surrounding Eircode will be addressed by his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3958/15]

Michael Moynihan (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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There is much concern about privacy and data protection with regard to Eircode. The issues have been articulated by many groups. Has the Minister considered this in detail? Will he address it and make a statement on the matter?

Alex White (Dublin South, Labour)
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I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. Privacy and data protection issues have been part of the debate on the postcode system, now branded as Eircode, since the establishment of a national postcodes board in 2005 to examine the introduction of postcodes in Ireland. There has been engagement by my Department with the Office of the Attorney General and the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner on Eircode generally at various points since then. This has been under discussion for ten years, since 2005.

The main challenge in designing Eircode was to find a design that addressed the fact that 35% of addresses in Ireland were non-unique. An area-based code would not have addressed this problem and would have resulted in a sub-optimal solution.

The Office of the Data Protection Commissioner has expressed concerns in the past about data protection aspects of the design of Eircode. The design of the code and the concerns that have been expressed have been accorded high priority in the project implementation in order that any privacy issues are comprehensively managed. Holders of personal data are bound by data protection legislation on how they store and use this data, and the introduction of Eircode will not alter this obligation. In addition, the contract with Capita, the Eircode management licence holder, contains a range of safeguards on data protection. Furthermore, commercial organisations selling products based on Eircode will also be subject to stringent data protection requirements.

To ensure that the public can have absolute confidence in the project, I plan to bring proposals for legislation to Cabinet shortly on data protection in respect of the Eircode project. The proposed legislation will provide clarity on the use of Eircodes and Eircode databases to ensure that data protection issues affecting the project and the general public are fully addressed.

Michael Moynihan (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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Therein lies the issue: should the legislation the Minister is proposing not have come before Eircode is rolled out? When will that legislation be debated in the Houses of the Oireachtas? When will it be published? Will it be enacted in statute? Will it be the law of the land before Eircode is rolled out?

Alex White (Dublin South, Labour)
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I hope to bring the draft legislation to Government shortly, within a period of weeks. The Deputy asked whether it is intended to have the legislation enacted before the roll-out of Eircode. It absolutely is.

Michael Moynihan (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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The line used in recent months was that there was no issue in respect of data protection, that all the consultation had taken place in respect of data protection and that the Department and the Government were satisfied with the data protection regulations, in spite of the fact that a raft of people had been raising concerns. However, there must have been a serious issue if the Government has now embarked on the road of putting legislation before the House. Obviously, there must be a major issue in this regard. The advice given to those of us in the Joint Committee on Transport and Communications and in replies to Parliamentary Questions must have been incorrect. That is what I have been led to believe from this morning's answer.

Alex White (Dublin South, Labour)
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I gave the same answer any time I was asked. There has been ongoing contact with the Data Protection Commissioner. It is no secret that the Data Protection Commissioner raised certain concerns.

The Department undertook a privacy impact assessment at the request of the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner. The purpose of that privacy impact assessment was to ensure that any potential privacy impact on individuals as a result of the introduction of Eircode would be recognised and addressed. The assessment has concluded that the introduction of Eircode is unlikely to have any significant adverse effect on the right to privacy.

In addition to the licensing conditions with Capita, some strengthening of the data protection safeguards associated with the postcode operation is recommended. It will be a short Bill. One could describe it as a belt and braces approach. There is no suggestion that the project would not be covered by the Data Protection Acts. Where the storage and use of information collected is covered by theData Protection Act, it will continue to be the case. However, there is no harm in ensuring, by way of a short Bill, which will be brought before the House once the Government has agreed it, that there will be no concerns whatsoever. There is nothing new in that.

Michael Moynihan (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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When was the privacy report commissioned? When was that initiated by the Department? How far back into this process? We have had this process before the committee for a good few discussions and all the concerns of Members and the public were dismissed out of hand.

Alex White (Dublin South, Labour)
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Off the top of my head, I cannot tell the Deputy when it was commissioned, but I can tell him that it was brought to me and I saw it, to the best of my recollection, some time in the autumn. I am guessing - I would have to get the Deputy the exact dates and I have no difficulty in doing that - I had that report presented to me about three or four months ago.

Michael Moynihan (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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Three or four months ago?

Alex White (Dublin South, Labour)
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Yes, something of that order.