Firms probed for use of private investigators

Insurance companies and law firms are to be inspected by the State’s data protection watchdog in a bid to stop the use of private investigators to unlawfully access individuals’ personal information.

The Data Protection Commissioner also warned it will “vigorously pursue and prosecute” employers and recruitment firms who effectively force prospective staff to request data records from gardaí and give it to them.

In its 2014 annual report, the commission said queries were up from 12,000 in 2013 to 13,500 in 2014, while investigations were opened into 960 complaints last year, compared to 910 in 2013.