Anthony Lawlor (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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807. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she will publish, as a statutory instrument, her Department’s document primary online database, inclusive of all forms and regulations governing the operation of same; if she will replace the item entitled pupil religion in the database to one which asks parents whether or not they wish their child to receive religious instruction in the school; if she will provide an update on the accessibility of information from the database, or any component of it, to third-parties; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [28924/15]

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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A Fair Processing Notice which outlines the legal basis under which schools can ask parents/guardians for information and share it with the Department of Education is available on my Departments website. The Fair Processing Notice also outlines the bodies with whom the Department proposes to share data with, and the conditions under which data will be shared. Legislative provision exists for all proposed data-sharing arrangements for POD. Note that the term "sharing of data" does not mean that bodies with whom the data is shared will have direct access to POD.http://www.education.ie/en/Publications/Statistics/Primary-Online-Database-POD-/POD-Fair-Processing-Notice.pdf.

While the Department was at all times satisfied that it had adequate legislative basis to collect all of the data sought for POD, to avoid any possible legal doubt following the investigation of the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner, the Department of Education and Skills has agreed to make an amendment to the Social Welfare (Consolidated Claims, Payments and Control) Regulations, 2007 (S.I. 142/2007) to bring the particular data fields in issue within the scope of Regulation 189. The Department is engaged with the Department of Social Protection (under whose remit the making of the necessary Regulations falls) on this matter currently and the proposed amendment is expected to be concluded in the coming weeks.

The office of the Data Protection Commissioner has stated that the amended statutory instrument when introduced would in time, cover data already collected and no disaggregation of data already collected would be proposed.

A Circular which addresses frequently asked questions from schools is also available on my Departments website

The primary purpose of POD will be to monitor the education progress of primary pupils (in DES aided schools), throughout the primary system and onwards to post primary level and to help them develop their full educational potential. Information on religion is being sought, on an optional basis solely for statistical purposes. Whether parents/guardians wish their children to receive religious instructions in the school is a matter between the parents and the schools and is not the purpose of POD.

Fair Processing Notice also outlines the bodies with whom the Department proposes to share data with, and the conditions under which data will be shared. Legislative provision exists for all proposed data-sharing arrangements for POD. Note that the term "sharing of data" does not mean that bodies with whom the data is shared will have direct access to POD.