Increase in complaints over personal data

The Data Protection Commissioner has reported a big rise in complaints made by people seeking access to personal data held by State bodies and other organisations.

Last year, the commissioner, Billy Hawkes, received 312 complaints about access rights, compared to 187 the year before, an increase of 67 per cent.

However, the overall number of complaints received by the commissioner remained static, at 1,031, according to his annual report published today. This is because of a big fall in the number of complaints about unsolicited direct marketing text messages, phone calls, fax messages and emails.

Mr Hawkes attributed the fall in such complaints to an increased awareness by companies of their data protection obligations and the impact of prosecutions taken by his office which challenged illegal practices in the text marketing sector.

The report highlights a high number of security breaches that occurred last year, including incidents at Jobs.ie, Bank of Ireland, the Comptroller and Auditor General's office and the HSE. In many cases, computers or memory devices were lost or stolen and significant amounts of personal data were lost.

Mr Hawkes said the response to these incidents was encouraging, with new guidelines on data security in the public sector and increasing recognition that proper handling of personal data was a matter of good customer service.

"If customers cannot trust the State or private companies to treat their personal information with respect, they will be increasingly reluctant to part with such information," he says.

Mr Hawkes said positive moves in relation to data security had to be balanced against worrying moves which could fatally undermine progress. He expressed particular concern about the apparent failure to recognise the need for greater care in the use of PPSNs (Personal Public Service Numbers).

"The extended requirement to retain telecommunications data for possible police use, in accordance with the EU Data Retention Directive, also gives rise to security concerns – as well as more fundamental privacy issues."