Joe Costello (Dublin Central, Labour)
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Question 75: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the outcome of the investigation his Department held into the circumstances in which several civil servants are reported to have accessed the personal welfare records of a person (details supplied); the number of persons who were found to have accessed the records; the number of such persons who would have been authorised to do so; if action is planned on foot of his Department's investigation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37200/05]

Séamus Brennan (Dublin South, Fianna Fail)
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Arising from comment in the media, my Department carried out an examination of accesses to the computer record of the person concerned. During the period examined, our records show that 125 accesses to the record in question took place.

On a general basis, staff of my Department are authorised to access individual records as long as it is for legitimate business reasons. In view of the number of accesses, managers were asked to examine the matter to establish if there were genuine business reasons for their staff accessing the record. The staff concerned have been asked to set out the reason they accessed the record, and managers have drawn up reports on the basis of their replies. Those reports are currently being collated and considered by the personnel officer. If it is established that there was inappropriate access to records by a staff member, the matter will be dealt with in accordance with the Civil Service disciplinary procedures.

My Department views its obligations to safeguard the privacy of data under its control very seriously and has undertaken a considerable amount of work in that area over the past few years. A review is currently under way to see if new approaches and technologies can be applied to strengthen our controls in this area.