DPC investigation into Public Services Card
We welcome the Data Protection Commissioner’s decision to extend her investigation into the Public Services Card. The Commissioner’s investigation is unprecedented in the Irish public sector. The card is essentially a national identity card. The database that lies behind it is an unofficial national population …
Tell your TD to stop the PSC becoming a private sector ID card
We’re sorry to have to keep banging on about the Public Services Card. But this is important, and urgent. One of the few limits on the PSC becoming a national ID card is a section which makes it an offence for private bodies to use …
Taoiseach rejects linking of ‘Public Services Card’ to social media
Should your PSC be linked to your social media account? Jim Daly, an Irish government minister thinks so. After DRI solicitor, Simon McGarr intervened in a TV debate, The Taoiseach (Prime Minister) has firmly rejected the plan, saying “the Government has no plans to link the …
Public meeting on the public services card and national biometric database
The Irish Council for Civil Liberties and Digital Rights Ireland will be hosting a public meeting on the introduction of public service cards and the national biometric database. The meeting will take place from 11am – 1pm on Wednesday, 11th October 2017 at Buswells Hotel, …
Is the Public Services Card Mandatory to access state services?
Over the last week there has been much controversy over the decision of the Department of Social Protection that the ‘Public Services Card’ is mandatory. It is mandatory, they say, not only to claim a social welfare benefit, but to access any number of state …
New ‘egovernment’ strategy is a national identity card by the back door
The government has promised that the Public Services Card would not be mandatory. But now the government has put forward an ‘eGovernment strategy’ that will force every citizen, young or old, rich or poor to have this card. You will not be able to travel …
Submissions on the Data Protection Bill
What will future Irish data protection law look like? Many of the decisions have already been made in Brussels and Strasbourg, but the EU General Data Protection Regulation still leaves quite a bit of discretion to individual Member States. The Department of Justice and Equality …
Extending Irish interception of communications to the Internet
Earlier this week the Department of Justice published a long awaited policy document on amending Irish law relating to interception of communications. In a welcome break with tradition the Department has been more willing to engage with outsiders and in a meeting today with the IHREC, ICCL …
DRI challenges independence of Ireland’s Data Protection Authority
Digital Rights Ireland has instructed its lawyers to serve legal papers on the Irish government, challenging whether the office of the Irish Data Protection Commissioner is truly an independent data protection Authority under EU law. Ireland’s position as the EU’s centre for technology multinational companies …
10 Years and 10 Ways DRI Has Made a Difference
December 6th, 2015 marks DRI’s 10th year at the forefront of digital rights advocacy. To mark this momentous occasion, we’re proud to present a list of 10 key DRI accomplishments over the past decade: 1/ Overturned mass surveillance for half a billion people Beginning in 2006, DRI undertook …
You’re Invited to DRI’s 10th Birthday Party!
December 6, 2015 is a momentous day for Digital Rights Ireland: it is our 10th birthday. To celebrate ten years of being at the forefront of the fight for digital rights, you are invited to help us launch a month of #dri10 festivities at DRI’s 10th Birthday Party …
How the International Press Reported on Safe Harbor and Schrems
It’s been a hugely significant week for civil liberties in Europe. Following a judgement [PDF, 43kb] from the European Union’s Court of Justice, the Safe Harbour regime, which allowed the transfer of data from the EU to the United States, has been struck down. The …
