Data Protection Acts, 1988 and 2003

The Data Protection Act, 1988, was passed in order to deal with the privacy issues arising from the increasing amount of personal information kept on computer about individuals. In giving new privacy rights to individuals, the Act also puts responsibilities on those who keep personal information on computers. The Data Protection (Amendment) Act, 2003, extended the scope of the Act to cover manual data also, along with expanding upon other provisions.

Are you a "data controller"?

A data controller is the individual or the legal person who controls and is responsible for the keeping and use of personal information on computer. Being a data controller carries with it serious legal responsibilities, so you should be quite clear if these responsibilities apply to you or your organisation. If you are in any doubt, or are unsure about the identity of the data controller in any particular case, you should consult your legal adviser or seek the advice of the Data Protection Commissioner.

In essence, you are a data controller if you can answer YES to the following question:-

• Do you keep or process any information about living people?

The Data Protection Rules

Your legal responsibilities as a Data Controller
You have certain key responsibilities in relation to the information which you keep on computer about individuals. These may be summarised in terms of eight "Rules" which you must follow, and which are listed below. Click on the links to see more information.

You must ...

1. Obtain and process the information fairly
   
2. Keep it only for one or more specified and lawful purposes
   
3. Process it only in ways compatible with the purposes for which it was given to you initially
   
4. Keep it safe and secure
   
5. Keep it accurate and up-to-date
   
6. Ensure that it is adequate, relevant and not excessive
   
7. Retain it no longer than is necessary for the specified purpose or purposes
   
8. Give a copy of his/her personal data to any individual, on request.
   These provisions are binding on every data controller. Any failure to observe them would be a breach of the Act.

To find out more visit www.dataprivacy.ie

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