Courts / Louth / Report

Department officials deny release of personal data was "common practice"

Date
2019-11-20

Stage
Hearing Or Decision

Primary locality
Drogheda

County
Louth

Summary

In a 2019 civil action, Daniel Lannon, aged 49, sued the Department of Social Protection for a 2014 breach of his privacy, alleging that his personal data was unlawfully passed to a private investigator. The department, represented by Conor Power SC and Nick Reilly BL, denied that such data sharing was common practice, stating that it takes data‑protection breaches seriously and has implemented staff training and monitoring since 2014. It admitted that a former official, Ms Caitriona Bracken, had provided Lannon's data to a private investigator, Mr Michael Ryan, who was hired by a solicitor's firm for AIB. The department also acknowledged that four employees, including Bracken, had been dismissed for passing data to third parties, and that between 20 and 30 staff had been disciplined for non‑business data access. The court heard that the department had taken steps such as random checks and a database of private investigators' phone numbers to prevent further breaches.