Gregory may have broken data laws

INDEPENDENT TD Tony Gregory may have breached data protection laws by passing a woman’s correspondence to a group that vehemently opposed her views.

The Data Protection Commissioner’s office said it would investigate the case if the woman made a complaint.

Last November, the woman lobbied TDs on behalf of the Ward Union Hunt, which was pushing the Government to renew its stag-hunting licence.

Mr Gregory passed her correspondence to the Irish Council against Blood Sports, of which he is vice-president.

Within hours the council had contacted the woman’s employer to denounce her views, complaining directly to the chief executive of the company.

The lobby group said the move was justified because the woman had used her work email account to write to the TDs.

The Data Protection Commissioner’s office would not comment directly on Mr Gregory’s actions, as it had not received a complaint or conducted an investigation.

But the commissioner’s office stressed that correspondence between two individuals should normally remain private, and said it would investigate if the woman made a complaint.

“A written communication from an individual is personal data of that person under the Data Protection Acts,” the office said.

“One of the principles of data protection is that an individual’s personal data should not normally be communicated to a third party without the individual’s consent.

“If the office received a complaint from the individual concerned, it would investigate it on this basis.”

A spokeswoman for Mr Gregory confirmed he had passed the woman’s correspondence to the council. “He does pass on the documents for all issues relating to blood sports,” she said.

Asked about the possibility Mr Gregory had breached data protection laws, she said: “He is the vice-president of [the council].”

Mr Gregory did not comment further, but his argument appears to be the woman was effectively emailing the council by emailing him.

The woman did not wish to speak to the Irish Examiner when contacted earlier this month.

It subsequently emerged a second individual had experienced a similar situation. On November 15, John Bannon, owner of the Remax estate agency franchise in Dunshaughlin, Co Meath, emailed all 166 TDs seeking their support for the Ward Union Hunt.

Within hours of Mr Bannon emailing the politicians, the council had contacted the Irish head office of Remax to complain.