Written answers
Wednesday, 16 October 2024
Department of Education and Skills
Data Protection
Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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273. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of data breaches experienced by his Department in each of the past ten years and to date in 2024; if a breakdown will be provided on the nature of the breaches; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41735/24]
Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick County, Fine Gael)
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Please see below in tabular form the number of data breaches that occurred in my department since its establishment in 2020 and to date in 2024, and the numbers which were reported to the Data Protection Commission (the remainder were deemed to be of no risk due to their nature and therefore were not required to be reported to the DPC).
| Year | No. of Breaches | No. of Breaches reported to DPC | Cases still open |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | - | ||
| 2021 | 1 | 1 | - |
| 2022 | 2 | 1 | - |
| 2023 | 2 | 0 | - |
| 2024 to date (14/10/24) | 2 | 1 | - |
By way of background to the above figures, it should be noted that the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) came into effect on 25th May 2018.
86% of the data breaches that occurred in my department since 2020 are classified as unauthorised disclosure of personal data, while the balance fall under loss of personal data. Data breaches which occurred in my department were reported to the Data Protection Commission in line with the requirements of the legislation.
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