Ken O'Flynn (Cork North-Central, Independent Ireland Party)
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762. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection to confirm the data-hosting location(s) for My Future Fund; if all personal data will remain within the EEA; the list of approved sub-processors and audit rights; and the schedule for publishing the data protection impact assessment summary. [48584/25]

Ken O'Flynn (Cork North-Central, Independent Ireland Party)
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769. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if participant data will be used solely for administering My Future Fund and not for marketing or unrelated analytics by any contractor or sub-processor; and the way in which this is enforced contractually. [48591/25]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 762 and 769 together.

Following a robust competitive procurement process, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) was appointed the managed service provider to operate the administration of My Future Fund. TCS will work under contract to the National Automatic Enrolment Retirement Savings Authority (NAERSA), which is in the process of being established, to administer and regulate My Future Fund on behalf of its participants. Pending the establishment of NAERSA, my Department is working closely with TCS to operationalise and deliver My Future Fund by January 2026.

This contract with TCS was developed in conjunction with the Offices of the Chief State Solicitor and the Attorney General. As a result, it is thorough and contains very detailed and specific provisions in respect of data protection, including, but not limited to, the requirement to store, host and process data only in data centres verifiably located in the EEA by both TCS and approved sub-processors, the list of which is commercially sensitive. It also contains detailed and specific provisions for audit and inspection, including by, but not limited to, the Data Protection Commission.

Additionally, there are detailed contractual obligations for the managed service provider, which set out that participant data must be used only for the purposes explicitly set out in the contract, which would include administering My Future Fund. The managed service provider is prohibited from using the data for marketing or unrelated analytics.

The data protection impact assessment is an evolving document that will continue to develop and change right up to and through the launch phase of the project. By its nature it contains commercial and security sensitive material. As a result, ordinarily, a data protection impact assessment would not be published. It will be a matter for the Board of NAERSA to determine if it wishes to publish a summary of it in due course once it is finalised.

Ken O'Flynn (Cork North-Central, Independent Ireland Party)
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763. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of staff (details supplied) working in Letterkenny and Dublin; the roles they perform; and the way his Department is ensuring knowledge transfer and State control over critical functions. [48585/25]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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The Automatic Enrolment Retirement Savings System Act 2024 provides for establishment of a new independent State agency, the National Automatic Enrolment Retirement Savings Authority (NAERSA), to administer and regulate the AE system, and to ensure compliance. It will operate under the aegis of the Department of Social Protection.

The 'My Future Fund' system is due to launch in January 2026 and NAERSA will be formally established in the coming weeks. The selection of a Chief Executive and several Board members was recently announced and the recruitment of up to 50 staff at several grades is at an advanced stage. They will be based in Letterkenny, Co. Donegal. In the interim, a unit in my Department, consisting of over a dozen staff, is completing the implementation of My Future Fund.

Knowledge transfer from my Department to NAERSA is being ensured by the preparation of staff training manuals, policy guidelines and operational documents. NAERSA staff members, as they are onboarded, are being trained by experienced officers within my Department, some of whom will continue to be available to NAERSA after the launch, while the system beds down.

All of the critical functions in My Future Fund will be performed by NAERSA within the framework of the legislation and with the support of a range of contracted service providers selected through open public procurement processes, including TCS and a number of investment management companies. The procurement processes and subsequent contracts are robust and were developed in consultation with the Offices of the Chief State Solicitor and the Attorney General.

TCS, which has been appointed as the managed service provider to operate the administration of My Future Fund, and which has its operating base for My Future Fund also in Letterkenny, Co. Donegal, will work under contract to and the control of NAERSA for this purpose. Details of its staffing arrangements are commercially sensitive.

Ken O'Flynn (Cork North-Central, Independent Ireland Party)
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765. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the way in which his Department has assessed vendor legal and reputational risk in light of US whistleblower litigation against a company (details supplied); and if any contractual safeguards address adverse findings by foreign courts or regulators. [48587/25]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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Following a competitive procurement process, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) was appointed the managed service provider to operate the administration of My Future Fund. TCS will work under contract to administer My Future Fund on behalf of the National Automatic Enrolment Retirement Savings Authority (NAERSA), which is in the process of being established as a statutorily independent body.

NAERSA will have a Chief Executive and a Board charged with ensuring the system as a whole operates to the highest standards and in the best interests of participants. The CEO will be obliged, as an accountable person under the relevant legislation, to answer to relevant Oireachtas Committees. A range of other accountability mechanisms are set out in the legislation, including accountability to the Pensions Authority and the Comptroller and Auditor General, and the publication of an annual report. Pending the establishment of NAERSA, my Department is working closely with TCS to operationalise and deliver My Future Fund by January 2026.

The contract with TCS was developed in conjunction with the Offices of the Chief State Solicitor and the Attorney General. As a result, it contains detailed provisions and safeguards in respect of all matters relevant to this type of arrangement within the Irish and EEA context. Ongoing litigation in respect of discrete matters in foreign jurisdictions is not of immediate relevance to the administration of My Future Fund. Compliance with the contractual arrangements will remain the responsibility of NAERSA.

Ken O'Flynn (Cork North-Central, Independent Ireland Party)
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766. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the way in which the automatic enrolment retirement savings system supervision model addresses concerns raised by the Department of Finance in 2024 regarding forward-looking, risk-based supervision by the Pensions Authority. [48588/25]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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My Future Fund, the automatic enrolment retirement savings system being launched in January 2026, will be subject to a level of oversight and public scrutiny that surpasses any other retirement savings or pension arrangement in the State.

My Future Fund will be governed by the Automatic Enrolment Retirement Savings System Act 2024.

It will be facilitated, administered and regulated by a new statutorily independent body under the auspices of the Department of Social Protection called the the National Automatic Enrolment Retirement Savings Authority (NAERSA).

NAERSA will be overseen by a Board which will consist of up to eight members from a range of relevant and expert backgrounds.

The Comptroller and Auditor General will audit and report on the accounts and operations of NAERSA in terms of efficiency and compliance with legal obligations.

Further, the Pensions Authority will prepare an annual supervisory report on NAERSA's governance of the system and the operation and effectiveness of the Automatic Enrolment Retirement Savings System Act 2024, helping to ensure that the best interests of My Future Fund participants will be safeguarded and supported to the highest degree.

NAERSA's Chief Executive will be accountable in the performance of this body's functions to the Board of NAERSA and also to the Oireachtas and its Committees, including the Public Accounts Committee.