Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 13 January 2026
247. Deputy Cathal Crowe asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the number of data breaches recorded by her Department in 2025; and the number that were reported to the Data Protection Commissioner. [74896/25]
Amharc ar fhreagraMy Department documents personal data breaches that have occurred in accordance with Article 33(5) of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
In 2025, this Department reported 123 data breaches in respect of which this Department bore principle responsibility to the Office of the Data Protection Commission (DPC).
In addition to these data breaches, and in accordance with advice sought and received from the Office of the DPC, my Department further notifies that Office of cases of what are described as postal carrier breaches, that is the loss or mis-delivery of documentation in the postal system. This includes consignments that have been correctly addressed and dispatched by my Department to the intended recipient, often resident abroad, but subsequently lost or mis-delivered by a postal provider.
Where a consignment containing a passport is correctly dispatched but is lost in the postal system, my Department takes responsibility for cancelling the lost or compromised passport and reissues a new passport as standard practice. Similarly, the Passport Service provides assistance to individuals whose supporting documents are lost when being returned to an applicant through the postal system. My Department regularly engages with the postal provider to highlight the issue and monitors global postal issues arising which may impact the dispatch and safe receipt of documents issued or returned by the Department.
