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A ban on visitor books at some of the State’s best known tourist attractions has been reversed after the Office of Public Works (OPW) admitted it may have “erred on the side of caution” amid fears of breaching EU privacy rules.
The OPW had recently ordered that visitor books be removed from sites such as Kilmainham Gaol, Dublin Castle and Muckross House over concerns they could breach the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
The privacy and data protection rules brought in by the European Union last year carry a maximum fine of €1 million, under the Data Protection Act, for public bodies failing to adhere to them.
The OPW said it had been advised that the books - in which visitors leave brief remarks along with their names and in some cases addresses - ran “the risk of being viewed by other people who could retrieve visitors’ personal data for purposes other than that for which it was offered, potentially placing the organisation in breach of the GDPR”.
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However, the OPW on Thursday said it had “reviewed” the decision following clarification from the Data Protection Commission (DPC), which told it that the use of visitor books was not a breach of GDPR.
Reinstate
Frank Shalvey, the head of the OPW’s visitor services division, said the organisation was working to reinstate visitor books at its heritage sites countrywide, while ensuring they comply with GDPR.
“The Data Protection Commission has confirmed that our interpretation may have erred on the side of caution and that there is no legal risk,” he said.
“The visitor season is at its peak right now and we would expect thousands of people to come to our sites throughout the remainder of July and August in particular and we are delighted to offer them the opportunity to leave comments on the books”.
The decision to remove the books drew widespread derision after its was first reported in the Irish Times on Tuesday.
Daragh O Brien, a privacy and data protection expert who heads the Castelbridge consultancy, had described it as “insanity” and “illogical”. He said it was an “overly-literal” interpretation of the regulations.
More than 8.5 million people visited OPW heritage sites last year which include the Hill of Tara visitor centre, Áras an Uachtaráin, Government Buildings, Kilkenny Castle, the Rock of Cashel and Skellig Michael.