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First data-sharing agreements for public review

The first two data-sharing agreements developed under a new framework for public bodies have been published for public consultation.

They cover the sharing of citizenship data by the Department of Foreign Affairs, and an agreement that enables Revenue to share personal data linked to individuals that have been approved under the Immigrant Investor Programme.

These arrangements had existed already, but they have now been reviewed and updated by the Department of Justice to bring them under the scope of the new framework.

Transparency

The new system sets out a common set of key processes for public bodies to follow when they want to use the Data Sharing and Governance Act 2019 to share personal information within the public service.

Public consultation is one of the stages included in the new process, and is aimed at bringing transparency to GDPR compliance, and the safe handling of personal information.

All such agreements made between public bodies are made available for public consultation on the Government’s consultation hub for a period of 28 days.

The Government says that the Data Governance Board, which was also set up under the 2019 act, will add another layer of governance to the process, by reviewing the data-sharing agreements and publishing recommendations.