Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick, Fine Gael)
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Question 105: To ask the Minister for Social Protection further to Parliamentary Question No. 377 of 20 September 2011, if she has invoked section 8 of the Data Protection Act 1988 as amended by the Data Protection (Amendment) Act 2003 as a means to combat social welfare fraud. [28167/11]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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In line with data protection requirements, the Department has, in the last number of years, been engaged in extensive data matching exercises with a number of other Government Departments and public bodies for control purposes. Data matching is viewed as an efficient and effective mechanism to target control related activity.

Data matching acts as an important preventative and detection control. The Department has an extensive legal structure to support the sharing of data for the purpose of controlling the entitlement and payment of benefits. The legislative provisions which allow for the specific sharing of data are contained in section 261 (1) of the Social Welfare Consolidated Act, 2005. Information held by the Department for the purposes of the Act (including the purpose of collection by the Revenue Commissioners of employment and self-employment contributions) may be transferred by the Department to the Revenue Commissioners. Similarly, information held by the Revenue Commissioners for the purposes of this Act or the Income Tax Acts, relating to employers, the reckonable earnings of employed contributors or reckonable income or reckonable emoluments of self-employed contributors or of any payments made under this Act, may be transferred to the Department.

Under the provisions of section 261 (2) of the 2005 Act, information held by the Department for the purposes of the Act or the control of schemes administered by or on behalf of the Department may be transferred to another Department or a specified body. The converse also applies. These provisions are in accordance with the data protection provisions. The legislative provisions governing data protection are contained in the Data Protection Act, 1988 and Data Protection (Amendment) Act, 2003 and have regard to EU Directives which have been transposed. Notwithstanding the provision of the 2005 Act, as outlined above, the Department must operate in accordance with and be in compliance with the basic principles underpinning the data protection legislation.

The restriction on processing of personal data (including disclosure to a third party) is lifted in limited circumstances, as specified in section 8 (b) of the Data Protection Acts, where the right to privacy must be balanced against other needs, i.e. where criminal investigations are being undertaken. Typically these provisions would apply in instances where the Department's Special Investigation Unit investigators are dealing with cases of multiple claiming and personation with the Gardaí. In addition, they apply where this Department requests and obtain data from other Government departments and agencies for the control of schemes.

The Department liaises with the Data Protection Commissioner on a regular basis and will, where Social Welfare legislative proposals have data protection implications, consult with the Commissioner on such matters.

The Department undertakes a number of existing data matches with other Government Departments & Agencies on a systematic basis, including the following the Irish Prison Service, Third Level Institutions, General Register Office, Commission on Taxi Regulation, Revenue Commissioners, Department of Work & Pensions (UK State Pensions Match) and the Probate Office. These matches are in compliance with the data protection regulations.