Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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1081. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the number of data protection breaches identified within her Department in 2019. [33849/20]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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I wish to inform the Deputy that a total of 130 data breaches were identified within my Department in 2019.

Of the 130 breaches identified, 67 were assessed as posing a risk to the rights and freedoms of data subjects and were reported to the Data Protection Commission in compliance with data protection legislation.

Many breaches are as a result of human error. A system of early reporting of suspected data breaches by staff across the Department allows the DPO and her team to investigate the circumstances and ensure that the risk to the individuals involved is minimised. I note that, upon investigation, just under half of the breaches recorded posed no risk to the individuals involved. My Department engages in ongoing data protection awareness raising activities and provides targeted training to specific staff groupings in this area.