Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour)
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303. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if her Department has been the subject of an investigation by the Data Protection Commission from 2016 to date; the number of specific investigations underway or completed; the dates on which her Department was first notified of the investigation; the details of the investigation; the nature of the complaints; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40815/20]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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I wish to inform the Deputy that my Department is committed to protecting the data privacy rights of all data subjects.

The Irish Prison Service (an Executive Office within my Department) is currently the subject of an investigation by the Data Protection Commission in accordance with sections 110(1), 123(1) and 137 of the Data Protection Act, 2018. The Irish Prison Service was first notified of the investigation on 6 September 2019. The investigation is in respect of personal data processing operations of the Operational Support Group of the Irish Prison Service. The investigation is a Data Protection Commission ‘own volition’ investigation further to the publication of the Inspector of Prison’s report into the Operational Support Group on 25 July 2019.

Separately, while not a formal Data Protection Commission investigation (section 137 DP Act refers), the Data Protection Commission issued preliminary findings and directions to the Irish Prison Service in October 2020 on foot of a complaint regarding biometric data processing. The Irish Prison Service have complied with the directions of the Data Protection Commission in this regard and notified compliance in November 2020.