Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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320. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the protocols and or guidelines he has issued in respect of the use of personal social media accounts by officials in his Department; the number of sanctions imposed by his Department on its own officials in the past ten years to date in respect of social media output by its officials, verbal, written or otherwise; if social media platforms are restricted on his Department’s network; if an application (details supplied) is available to use and or download onto Departmental-issued mobile phones; and if not, if it is barred from use. [14514/23]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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My Department’s ICT Usage policy, currently under review, states that, save for approved social media accounts, staff members should not publish official business information on social media websites, bulletin boards, or other fora in the name of my Department or purport to represent its views on such platforms. Under the Civil Service Disciplinary Code, which is issued to all new entrants, any inappropriate use of social media may be considered as misconduct. Misconduct can include inappropriate behaviour outside the workplace which has an impact or could reasonably be likely to have an impact within the workplace. Since the formation of my Department in July 2020 there have been no disciplinary sanctions imposed on any member of the Department for this reason. Content filtering is applied on all internet usage on my Department’s PCs. The purpose of the content filtering is to ensure that inappropriate websites and content are not accessible by staff members. The National Cyber Security Centre is to issue updated guidance in relation to what apps are appropriate to be used on Government-issued phones.