Emer Higgins (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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812. To ask the Minister for Health if he will alter the Covid-19 tracking app to allow users to clearly see the number of close contacts that their app records on a daily basis in order to encourage users to reduce their number of close contacts; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25377/20]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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Allowing users to see the number of close contacts that their app records on a daily basis in order to encourage a reduction in the number of close contacts was considered by the development team when designing the Covid Tracker App and has also been considered by other countries, such as Denmark.

In order to preserve privacy, the keys that are shared between phones when app users come into close contact with each other are randomised and rotate on a regular basis. This means that it is not possible to determine whether the app is storing keys from multiple contacts with the same person (for example a family member) or contacts with different people.

Preservation of privacy and adherence to data protection legislation were key considerations in the design and operation of the app. As GDPR requires organisations to process the minimum amount of data necessary to deliver the primary function of the app, recording additional data for other functions was not deemed appropriate at the time.