Data Protection Commissioner

Information

The Office of the Data Protection Commissioner is responsible for upholding the privacy rights of individuals in relation to the processing of their personal data.

These rights are contained in the Data Protection Acts 1988 and 2003 (pdf). The Acts state that information about you must be accurate, only made available to those that should have it and only used for specified purposes. You have the right to access personal information relating to you and have any errors corrected or, in some cases, have the information erased.

If your information is being held for the purposes of direct marketing, you can have your details removed.

Data protection rights apply to information held on computer or in manual or paper files.

The Commissioner is appointed by the Government and is independent in the exercise of his or her functions. Individuals who feel their rights are being infringed can complain to the Commissioner. He/she has powers to enforce the provisions of the Act.

If the Data Protection Commissioner does not accept your complaint, you may appeal to the Circuit Court against his/her decision within 21 days.

If you suffer damage as a result of a breach of your data protection rights, you may sue for damages through the courts.

The Commissioner also maintains a register, available for public inspection, giving general details about the data handling practices of many important data controllers, such as Government Departments and State-sector bodies, financial institutions, and any person or organisation who keeps sensitive types of personal data.