Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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324. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality 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. [14517/23]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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All staff of the Department of Justice are bound by the Civil Service Code of Standards and Behaviour and the Department has specific guidelines in relation to social media. Officers are routinely advised on their responsibilities and compliance with these guidelines via regular communications. Under the Civil Service Disciplinary Code, any inappropriate use of social media may be considered to be misconduct.

Two officials in my Department have been formally sanctioned in relation to social media interactions in the last ten years.

Access to social media platforms on the Department’s network is restricted to those who require it for official business purposes.

My Department employs a Mobile Device Management system to secure and manage officially issued mobile devices. Applications are provided via an encrypted container and only applications required for business purposes are permitted to be installed in this container.

The Department expects all users of official devices to exercise appropriate discretion in their use, and in using relevant communications services in line with appropriate usage policies.