Barry Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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66. To ask the Minister for Defence if he will provide in tabular form, the number of staff in his data protection office; if he has a specified data protection officer; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44724/14]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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In my Department there are two staff in the data protection office. The Department has appointed a Data Protection Officer. Key responsibilities associated with this role include liaising with Branches in relation to data protection matters, responding to queries from Branches on various elements of the Data Protection Acts and liaising with the Department’s Data Controller, as and when required. The Data Protection Officer is also the first point of contact for citizens wishing to submit a Subject Access Request (SAR) to the Department.

My Department’s Data Protection Policy, which sets out the various legal obligations concerning the handling of both personal data and sensitive personal data and the steps taken by the Department to meet these obligations, is available on the Department’s website.

I am satisfied that the staff of my Department are aware of their responsibilities in relation to Data Protection through the provision of training and through the role undertaken by the Data Protection Officer.