Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)
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Question 320: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs the way his Department disposes of redundant information technology equipment; if he is satisfied that all stored information has been removed prior to disposal; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32351/07]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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The Department of Foreign Affairs disposes of all redundant information technology equipment in accordance with the EU Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive (WEEE) and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations.

I recently decided that my Department should donate the bulk of its redundant PCs at Headquarters to the charity Camara for reuse in developing countries and this process is underway. The storage media in these PCs are subjected to an overwrite programme which is run seven times to ensure that all data is removed. This is in excess of international best practice which recommends the programme is run three times.

In some situations, it is necessary for security reasons to destroy rather than recycle certain computer equipment. In these situations, all media which store information are removed prior to disposal. In the presence of an official from my Department, these media are processed so as to render any data irrecoverable. These media devices are then escorted to a registered recycling centre, where they are shredded immediately to 4mm fragments. These fragments, and the remaining parts of the equipment, are then recycled in accordance with WEEE and EPA rules.

I am satisfied that these measures provide assurance that any stored information on the Department's ICT equipment has been removed prior to the reuse or disposal.