Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour)
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108. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection when his Department officials last met with the Data Protection Commissioner to ensure the highest standards are being met by the Department, and all agencies under its remit, in terms of compliance with data protection legislation. [14448/25]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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My Department's Data Protection Officer (DPO) and senior officials of his team meet with officials from the Data Protection Commission (DPC) twice a year. The last such meeting took place on November 5, 2024.

The DPO also attended the Supporting DPO Success conference, which was hosted by the DPC in Croke Park on November 29, 2024. This conference was aimed at supporting DPOs and their needs, focusing on providing practical, adaptable examples of GDPR compliance.

Data protection is taken very seriously in DSP. Staff members are regularly reminded of their obligations in relation to protection of personal data and of the penalties that are applicable in respect of any breach of them. More staff are assigned to data protection roles in this Department than in any other central Government Department.

My Department's DPO is not the DPO for the agencies under my Department's remit; the Citizens Information Board, the Pensions Authority and the Pensions Council. Each of these bodies is a data controller in its own right, is accountable under the GDPR for the processing of personal data it carries out, and each has appointed its own DPO.