THE HOUSES of the Oireachtas have issued a tender for an encryption system after it emerged that one TD has had two laptops stolen since the general election last June.

A Leinster House spoksesman yesterday confirmed that two deputies have reported the theft of three laptops during the life of the current Dáil.

The Irish Times understands the computers were not encrypted meaning that any information on the machines could easily be accessed by the thieves. The tender covers the provision of encryption for 600 devices used by TDs, Senators and staff. The spokesman said that it was planned to offer encryption 18 months ago but there was no real demand from users.

As a result the project was placed on hold. “In light of the recent bad experience of other bodies, both in Ireland and abroad, the office decided not to wait until we suffered a major data loss, and to make the provision of this encryption software a higher priority,” the spokesman said.

Last month Bank of Ireland revealed that four laptops had been stolen from employees. The computers contained personal, banking and health details of more than 10,000 customers and were not encrypted. In January data on more than 170,000 blood donors was stored on a laptop stolen in New York. Following that incident Labour Party leader Eamon Gilmore said “more than 80 laptops, desktops or Blackberrys have been stolen or lost from Government departments over the course of the last five years.”

Cabinet confidentiality will not have been threatened by the theft of the deputies’ laptops. The computers used by Government ministers have been encrypted since 2005. Following the completion of the e-cabinet project ministers use touch screen “tablet” computers at cabinet meetings which are fully encrypted.