THE DEPARTMENT of Social protection has begun an internal investigation over concerns a staff member may have sold on information about social welfare claimants to a private investigator.
It has also called in the Garda and the Data Protection Commissioner to assist with an investigation, which is focusing on whether the private investigator sold on the data to insurance companies and other financial institutions.
In a statement yesterday the department said it had begun an investigation “following the detection that a member of its staff may have accessed customer records, without having an apparent business reason for doing so”.
“The Department of Social Protection is aware of its obligations to its customers under the Data Protection Acts 1988 and 2003.
“It takes its obligations very seriously and takes the strongest line in relation to the misuse of customer information by any of its staff. Any breach of trust with regard to the confidentiality of information is treated as serious misconduct under the disciplinary code, the sanction for which may be dismissal,” said the department.
Investigators from the Data Protection Commissioner have raided the Department of Social protection staff member’s house and the premises of three insurance companies.
Further raids are likely, according to a report yesterday in the Sunday Times newspaper.
This is not the first time that employees at the department have been investigated for alleged breaches of guidelines.
In 2006, department officials were reprimanded after they were found to have accessed the social welfare history of Euro Millions lottery winner Dolores McNamara.
UCD law lecturer and chairman of Digital Rights Ireland TJ McIntyre said yesterday there is a systematic problem of staff in public bodies abusing sensitive personal information.