Irish Water investigating possible data protection breach

A possible breach of data protection is being investigated at Irish Water after it is claimed the company used incorrect names on letters sent to over 6,000 customers.

The suspected data breach involves personal information being sent to the wrong recipients, all of whom are the owners of more than one property.

Information being collected by the semi-state company includes the PPS numbers of customers, how many people are in the household and whether the property is rented or owner occupied.

On becoming aware of the issue Irish Water informed the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner and has apologised to affected customers.