RTE News, 10th
October 2016
The director of
a Galway-based private investigation company has pleaded guilty at Tuam
District Court to breaches of the Data Protection Act.
Michael Ryan, of
Glen Collection Investments Ltd, in Glenamaddy, obtained personal information
from the Department of Social Protection when he was working on behalf of AIB
and Bank of Ireland.
Today's court
proceedings follow an investigation by Assistant Data Protection Commissioner Tony
Delaney.
The case arises
from a complaint by an individual, Daniel Lannon, that his personal data,
including details of a previous address in Louth, had been handed over
unlawfully to a private investigator.
Ryan had been
carrying out work for Croskerrys Solicitors in Dublin, a firm specialising in
debt recovery, that was acting for AIB.
The court heard
he obtained personal information from his sister-in-law, Catriona Bracken, who
was an employee of the Department of Social Protection in Athlone.
The personal
data of 61 individuals had been accessed on behalf of the two main banks in
this investigation.
Ms Bracken, AIB
and Bank of Ireland were not represented in court as the prosecution related
solely to Ryan and his company. The court heard the company was not registered
with the Data Protection Commissioner and had no authorisation to process
personal information on databases.
The court heard
that while it is not against the law for solicitors and banks to hire private
investigators, it remains a serious breach of the Data Protection Act to obtain
personal information unlawfully.
It was the
tactics and methodology used that were of serious concern in this case.
Judge Conal
Gibbons said that by publicising prosecutions of this nature, citizens would
have their rights protected and vindicated in the courts.
He also
expressed concern that banks did not take greater care to ensure the people
they were hiring to help recover debt were fully compliant with rules and
regulations.
The judge took
into account the guilty plea and the financial circumstances of Ryan when he
imposed a fine of €7,500.
The court heard
the 47-year-old father of five was in mortgage arrears.
He had no
previous convictions and received modest fees of between €45 and €100 for each
'trace' he carried out illegally.
Today's
successful prosecution was welcomed by the State's data protection watchdog.
Assistant
Commissioner Delaney said private investigators acting unlawfully would
continue to be vigorously pursued.
