Thomas Pringle (Donegal, Independent)
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671. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the way he will ensure that information given to Seetec, the company registered in the UK which runs the JobPath programme, will continue to adhere to data protection regulations in line with the EU and Ireland as Britain undergoes Brexit; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1830/17]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy will be aware, JobPath is an employment activation service that supports people who are long-term unemployed and those most at risk of becoming long-term unemployed to secure and sustain paid employment. The service is delivered by two companies, Seetec and Turas Nua.

Information is shared with these companies to enable them to provide employment services on behalf of the Department. The purpose of sharing this information is to assist in the development of tailored personal progression plans, for individual jobseekers in order to support them back into paid employment. However no personally identifiable client information is stored outside Ireland by either company.

It should be noted that the contracts in place are governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of Ireland and the courts of Ireland have exclusive jurisdiction over these contracts.

As part of the contracts for the provision of these services, there are strict obligations placed on these providers by the Department in terms of data protection. The companies are also contractually required to register with the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner and are subject to the same provisions of data protection legislation as Departmental staff. Data protection legislation requires that personal data shall be kept only for one or more specified and lawful purposes and that personal data shall be used and disclosed only in ways compatible with these purposes. Any breaches or suspected breach of the data protection legislation may, in addition to being investigated by the Department, also be referred to the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner.

I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.