Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 25 November 2025
662. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration whether information is shared between different public agencies; and if the same information is shared with private bodies. [65809/25]
View answerThe Deputy's question has been interpreted as relating to the sharing of personal data - in the course of carrying out its functions, the Department is engaged every day in correspondence that does not include personal data with Government Departments, public service bodies, private sector interests, civil society organisations, academia, and members of the public.
As the Deputy will be aware, my Department has a very wide range of functions, and data may be legally shared with various public bodies for operational reasons.
For example, a number of areas within my Department's Immigration function must work closely with other bodies including the Garda National Immigration Bureau and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Sharing personal data is essential to fulfil their respective responsibilities and functions and provide services to applicants.
Sharing of personal data may also take place in response to a valid lawful request from another public body or in accordance with existing legislative obligations. For example, my Department may share personal data with a competent authority under the EU Law Enforcement Directive for the purposes of the prevention, detection, or prosecution of criminal offences, including safeguarding against and preventing threats to security or the execution of criminal penalties.
Regular and/or ad-hoc sharing of personal data under the GDPR may also occur with various entities, including but not limited to the Chief State Solicitors Office, Tusla, the International Protection Appeals Tribunal, Revenue, and the Department of Social Protection.
It is important to note that personal data is only shared by my Department at an individual level where there is a legitimate reason to do so, a valid lawful basis, and in strict accordance with the GDPR principles.
A range of joint controller agreements, controller processor agreements, and Data Sharing Agreements are in place across my Department and its agencies. Further, data governance is a standard item on the reports my Department receives quarterly from its agencies.
Finally, my Department is currently developing a programme of work with relevant agencies under its aegis to deliver improved interoperability and efficiency and provide timely data for analytics - the Criminal Justice Operational Hub (CJOH). This programme supports a growing series of data exchanges between agencies across the criminal justice system, providing a secure area to exchange information. Data privacy, minimisation and security are key design principles of the programme which is underpinned by detailed Data Sharing Agreements and Data Protection processes to ensure appropriate data privacy is maintained. To date, secure data exchanges have been implemented between the Courts Service, An Garda Síochána, the Probation Service and the Irish Prison Service.
