The Gazette 1990

GAZETTE

PRIL

1990

LAWBR I EF

Edited by/Eamonn

G. Hall, Solicitor.

DATA PROT EC T I ON

The first annual report of the Data

Protection Commissioner, Mr.

Donal C. Linehan for the period

ending 31st December 1989 is

available from the Office of the

Data Protection Commissioner, Earl

Court, Adelaide Road, Dublin 2,

(telephone 01-765622). In the re-

port Mr. Linehan states that unlike

many national data protection laws,

which require

all

who keep or

process personal data to have a

licence or to be registered, the Irish

Act opts for a system of selective

registration under which only cer-

tain selected categories of persons

have to register. These include

public sector bodies, financial in-

stitutions, insurance companies,

data controllers whose business

consists wholly or mainly in direct

marketing, providing credit refer-

ences or collecting debts, data

controllers who keep personal data

relating to racial origin, political

opinions, religious or other beliefs,

physical or mental health, sexual

life or criminal convictions. Data

processors

whose

business

consists wholly or partly in pro-

cessing personal data for data

controllers are also required to

register. The information in the

public register includes, in general,

the kind of personal data kept, the

purposes for which they are kept

and the persons to whom the data

may be disclosed.

Members of the public are en-

titled to inspect the register free of

charge at the Office of the Data

Protection Commissioner, Earl

Court, Adelaide Road, Dublin 2 at

any time during office hours.

Any individual person who be-

lieves that a data controller keeps

personal data on computer (the

data need not necessarily refer to

him) is entitled to ask that data

controller if he keeps such data. If

he does, the individual is entitled to

be given a description of the data

and to be told the purposes for

which the data is kept. This

information must be supplied free

of charge within 21 days.

The main access provision re-

lates to the right of an individual to

ask a data controller if the data kept

by him includes personal informa-

tion about that individual and, if

that be the case, to be given a copy

of such information within 40 days.

The data controller can ask for any

reasonable information to satisfy

himself about the identity of the

individual. He is also entitled to ask

for information to help in locating

the information sought.

The Data Protection Commis-

sioner emphasised that many

people felt that only those required

to register are subject to the Data

Protection Act, 1988. The Com-

missioner states that the Act

applies to all who keep personal

data on computer. Thus, for ex-

ample, all data controllers must

obtain the information they hold

fairly, ensure that it is accurate and

up to date, and respond to access

requests from those about whom

they keep such information.

The Data Protection Commis-

sioner states that, so far, the

number of formal complaints

received is small. The approach the

Commissioner has adopted is to

deal with each complaint as

informally as possible in the first

instance. This means contacting

the data controller concerned, re-

questing his observations and

asking him for assistance in re-

solving the complaint. The pattern

of most of the complaints received

for the period ending December 31,

1989 indicates a misunderstanding

of the law rather than any deli-

berate policy of infringing privacy

rules. However, the Commissioner

has stated that some complaints

reveal that certain data controllers

are rather casual about their obli-

gations. This was particularly the

case in the area of credit informa-

tion and credit ratings. The Data

Protection Act, 1988, the Com-

missioner stresses, has as im-

portant a role to play in the area of

credit as in any other areas as a

means of ensuring that personal

information kept about individuals

is obtained and processed fairly, is

accurate, relevant, and up-to-date.

REPORT OF MAR T IN

C OMM I T T EE TO ENQU I RE

I NTO CERTA IN ASPEC TS OF

CR I M I NAL PROCEDURE

The Committee appointed by the

Minister for Justice and Minister for

Communications, Mr. Ray Burke

T.D. in November 1989 and chaired

by His Honour Judge Frank Martin

published its report in March 1990.

The members of the Committee

were Mr. Henry Abbott BL, Mr. Edwin

Alkin BL, Office of the Attorney

General, Mr. Hugh Sreenan,

Assistant Commissioner, Garda

Síochána, Mr. Patrick Terry, Depart-

ment of Justice, and Mr. Frank

Ward, Solicitor. Mr. Paul Murray,

Department of Justice, acted as

secretary to the Committee.

The Report states in its intro-

duction that it is an unfortunate but

undeniable fact that over the years

miscarriages of justice have taken

place from time to time. As long as

human nature remains fallible, there

can be no guarantee that no

miscarriages of justice will occur in

the future.

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