Regina Responds

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Public Services Card; Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection Regina Doherty

A week on from the Data Protection Commissioner Helen Dixon announcing that there is no legal basis for anyone to have to present a Public Services Card in respect of any transaction between a person and a public body outside the Department of Employment and Social Protection…

And that the supporting information that millions of card holders had to hand over in order to get their card – such as utility bills, proof of ID, etc – must now be deleted…

And that the Minister for Public Expenditure Paschal Donohoe was informed of Ms Dixon’s report’s findings a year ago

A press release released this lunchtime by the Department for Employment Affairs and Social Protection includes the following comment from Minister Regina Doherty:

“Both myself and my department take very seriously the findings of the Data Protection Commission and the good work it does.

“For that reason it is important that bodies that are subject to findings by the commission give very careful consideration to those findings.

“Such careful consideration is also necessary in order to be fair to the commission and to ensure that when we do speak that the public hears a properly prepared response.

As soon as our consideration of this final report is complete, the department will publish its response along with the report and any other relevant information on its website and I will speak then at greater length on the matter.”

Meanwhile, in the same press release from the department, a spokesperson said:

“The Department is currently reviewing the report together with the Attorney General’s Office and the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform. This process is not yet complete and is expected to take another week or so.

“While the Department understands that some may wish for us to respond sooner, it should be noted that this is a comprehensive report and requires significant attention.

It is not true, as has been reported in some quarters, that the Department has had this report for a year.”

“The Data Protection Commission (DPC) provided a draft investigation report in August of last year at the mid-point of a two year investigation. It came with instructions that it was provided on a strictly confidential basis and was not to be shared with any third parties.

“This draft report contained what it described as preliminary findings and the DPC asked the department to make submissions on these findings. The report also posed a number of additional questions in the form of requests for information.

“These submissions and response to requests for information were sought to assist the DPC in the ongoing investigation and to inform the content of the final report.

“The department together with Department of Public Expenditure and Reform considered the interim report very carefully and sought and received the advice of the Attorney General’s Office.

Based on this consideration, and the advice received, the Department submitted a very detailed response setting out how it believed the SAFE process/PSC was administered in full compliance with all relevant law.

“In this context, in the absence of any determination by the DPC and pending the receipt of the final report, the Department and other specified bodies continued to rely on the PSC and SAFE process.

“The revised and final version of the report was received last Thursday. It contains a significant volume of additional analysis, a number of the findings have been changed and some have been removed.”

Previously: House Of Card

Rollingnews

Meanwhile…

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12 thoughts on “Regina Responds

  1. eoin

    From the Data Protection Commissioner last week

    “Under applicable laws, it is not open to the DPC to publish its Report without the prior agreement of the Department. The DPC has written to the Department [on Thursday, 15 August] asking it to confirm, within a period of seven days, that it will either publish the Report on its own website or, alternatively, that it will agree to the publication of the Report on the Commission’s website. The Department’s response is awaited.”
    https://www.dataprotection.ie/en/dpc-statement-matters-pertaining-public-services-card-0

    The Department has responded above, basically telling the Commissioner to fupp off, it’s still looking at the report.

    Publish the report now. I suspect Regina is up to her neck in the illegal mass surveillance of citizens and an attempt to introduce a national ID card by the back door without consultation.

    1. V

      up to her neck in a job she is entirely and without doubt totally incapable of, more like.

      She hasn’t a clue what her job is as Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection. What her responsibilities are or even what her department is mandated with.

      That appointment is the equivalent of giving me the gig of clearing the backlog of smear tests.
      Useless.

      All she does, day in day out is promotion and preservation of Regina O’Doherty
      And TBF
      She’s good at that

  2. V

    up to her neck in a job she is entirely and without doubt totally incapable of, more like.

    She hasn’t a clue what her job is as Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection. What her responsibilities are or even what her department is mandated with.

    That appointment is the equivalent of giving me the gig of clearing the backlog of smear tests.
    Useless.

    All she does, day in day out is promotion and preservation of Regina O’Doherty
    And TBF
    She’s good at that

  3. Iwerzon

    Didn’t Regina have the guards intercept a journalist at the airport recently because she didn’t like a tweet she posted about her – facial recognition will make this type of surveillance much easier.

    1. Ron

      yes she did. And she got away with it too. Some Irish like that type of behaviour from politicians.

  4. Ron

    Oh surprise surprise. Anither absolute waffler. An arrogant, deceitful, egostistical little sleeveen who has aspirations taller then the spire on O Connell street, but the ability doesn’t match the over inflated ego. She is the epitome of incompetence and ineptitude in everything she has ever done.

    That’s why certain voters like her and continue to vote for her. A daw jawed troglodyte like Regina dictating to the submissive electorate who lack the kahunas to take her on. She is pathetic and so are the people that vote her into power

  5. phil

    Im starting to think my data is somehow valuable , everybody wants it , both public and private sector , I might have to start charing for it ….

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