Biometric security monitoring for household charge staff

Staff who have access to homeowners’ files to allow them to chase payment for the household charge will be monitored by a biometric security system to prevent the theft of personal data.

The unprecedented move, agreed between the body handling the collection of the household charge and the Data Protection Commissioner, will enable the staff to be tracked through either their palm or fingerprints.

A limited number of staff with the Local Government Management Agency (LGMA) overseeing the collection of the charge will be granted access to databases from other agencies to track down non-payers.