TD 'can’t figure out' why Passport Office would give customer data to some State bodies

International law enforcement agencies and the Department of Social Protection are among eight bodies to whom the Passport Office routinely divulges information from its dataset, it has emerged.

So far this year, the Passport Office has released information 2,681 times following requests.

The biggest recipient is An Garda Síochána with 1,498 requests. These requests can only be made at chief superintendent level.

Next in line is Interpol - the international criminal police agency - with 619 requests followed by the Department of Social Protection with 231 over the first 11 months of the year.

The remainder of data access requests are made by Europol (the EU’s official intelligence agency) with 151 requests, the Revenue Commissioners with 144, and the Department of Justice, the HSE, and the Road Safety Authority with 25, 9, and 4 respectively.

Interestingly, the Defence Forces is not on the list divulged by the department.

The nature of the information shared is unclear, and is dependent upon the individual request at hand, the Department of Foreign Affairs said.

Documents required for applying for a passport, and kept on file, include bills, bank statements, State correspondence, a full birth certificate, marriage certificate, and a Government-sanctioned identity document.

A request for such information from the Passport Office could conceivably encompass that entire dataset, plus an individual’s passport page itself.

Catherine Murphy.

Catherine Murphy, the Social Democrats TD who received the information from the Department of Foreign Affairs via parliamentary question, said that the international elements of the access requests, Europol and Interpol are to be expected.

But she added: "If there’s a good reason for the RSA and the Department of Social Protection to be looking at this data then I’d like to hear it.

“People often don’t notice, and shouldn’t, the times where the State is trying to make sure that they’re safe, and you would expect that the European agencies and international crime would be present in that kind of scenario."

She said, however, that she “can’t figure out” why the other bodies would be on the same list.

“I certainly think there is more information needed. Let’s see if they’ll outline the reasons why this is permissible under the current legislation, and the extent of it as well.”

Ms Murphy said an Irish passport is a valuable document, more so than many countries because it’s also an EU document.

“Most people would expect that the information they give is for the provision of a passport,” she added.

I don’t think the vast majority would expect the RSA or Social Protection would be looking for information from that office.

The Department of Foreign Affairs confirmed that no other state body has access to its dataset, and that the information divulged is released purely at its discretion.

Under the Data Protection Act 2018, which was brought into law in order to bring Ireland in legislative alignment with the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the personal data of people may be accessed for reasons other than which it was collected only in specific situations - they being threats to national security, the investigation or prevention of criminal offences, or in order for the provision of legal advice or the defence of legal rights.

All requests for passport information must be made in writing, and are only fulfilled if officials are satisfied they can be so in accordance with GDPR, the department said.