Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour)
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182. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if Ministers, ministerial advisers or officials in his Department have ever used private email to communicate on departmental issues between one another or with other persons or organisations; if so, the reason; if so, if he will publish these emails; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38550/18]

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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I would like to refer the Deputy to a parliamentary question I responded to on the 13th December 2016 tabled by Mr. John Brady, T.D. (PQ ref: 39582/16).Since late 2016 I have only used dedicated Department email addresses to communicate official Department business.

I have consulted with the Ministers of State and the special Advisers at my Department and they have confirmed that they have only used Department email addresses when conducting their official functions.

My Department does have an Information and Communications ICT Usage Policy which highlights for staff the need for email security. All staff members have to sign up to the policy and all new staff are provided with a copy of the policy as part of their induction material and are expected to comply with this policy.