Irish people are considerably more sensitive about personal details of their financial history than of their health, a survey by the Data Protection Commissioner has found.
It is striking that people attached greater importance to their financial history and credit card details, with 92 per cent and 85 per cent respectively feeling it was "very important or fairly important" to keep them private, the commissioner, Mr Fergus Glavey, noted in his annual report for 1997.
This finding corresponded with the experience of his office, where the largest number of queries relating to the 1988 Data Protection Act related to credit histories, he said.
Health information was ranked fourth in the list of information people wanted to keep private (73 per cent), while 50 per cent of respondents considered it very or fairly important to keep their date of birth private.
On the use of data by public agencies and businesses, 91 per cent described themselves as "very or fairly concerned" that one company should be allowed pass their details to another without asking them first.
When asked if a compulsory national identity card should be introduced, 53 per cent of respondents agreed or strongly agreed. A minority - 43 per cent - agreed or strongly agreed that businesses should be allowed to ask people to produce their identity cards.
Some 89 per cent of people were concerned or fairly concerned that silence should be considered consent, or that "passive consent" was acceptable. This arises where "data controllers" state an intention to use information relating to a subject in some way, and say that if they do not hear otherwise they will assume consent. This is a matter of frequent complaint.
The survey also found that while people had some awareness of their data protection rights, few were aware of the office of the Data Protection Commissioner.
He aims to secure respect for the individual's right to privacy with regard to information held on computer about the individual, by upholding the rights and enforcing the obligations set out in the Data Protection Act.
While information technology brings immense benefits it also has the potential to do harm, or rather to be used in a way which does harm, because computers themselves do not make choices, Mr Glavey said.
The simplest home computer now comes with software and processing power to manipulate information on a scale and at a speed that armies of clerks could never match, he added.
"The computer systems of public agencies and large companies are far more powerful. While in many ways this can bring the citizen or the customer a quality of service never dreamed of before, the scope for error, inaccuracy, confusion and downright misuse of information is correspondingly greater."
He warned: "Whenever information technology develops in a way that makes it easier to collect and exchange information about human beings, there is a need to consider the ethical and legal implications of the application of such technologies."
