David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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Question 219: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the way in which his Department assists the Garda Síochána in the provision of information if requested to do so; the changes which have been made in this practice in the past year; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18859/06]

Séamus Brennan (Dublin South, Fianna Fail)
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Access to information within my Department is strictly controlled and only released in accordance with law. Procedures have been in place for some time and there have been no changes in the past year.

Under the data sharing provision, Section 261 (2) of the Social Welfare (Consolidation) Act, 2005 (previously Section 222(2) of the Social Welfare (Consolidation) Act, 1993) — information held may be transferred to a specified body.

An Garda Síochána are such a specified body under Section 261(3) of the Act. The Department, in practice, responds to requests for information on a "case by case" basis. Staff are instructed to first authenticate the Garda requesting the information.

In addition, under Section 8(1) of the Immigration Act 2003, information relating to non EEA nationals is exchanged on a regular basis between the Department and An Garda Síochána, both for the purposes of the Refugee Act 1996, and also for the purposes of control of the Department's schemes.

The Department is very conscious of the confidentiality of its customer data, and there are comprehensive staff instructions in place relating to the disclosure of personal information.