Ireland's data protection watchdog has published guidance on key
definitions in the country's legislation, explaining how to
interpret the phrases "personal data", "manual data" and "relevant
filing system." It follows similar guidance from the UK
regulator.
The Irish rules are based largely on the Data Protection Act of
1988 and the Data Protection (Amendment) Act of 2003, which brought
Ireland into line with the provisions of the EU Data Protection
Directive. In the UK, the Directive was brought into effect under
the Data Protection Act of 1998.
A ruling last December on a dispute between an individual,
Michael Durant, and the Financial Services Authority, had the
effect of restricting the interpretation of "personal data" under
the UK legislation. In response, the UK's Information Commissioner
issued new guidelines in February. These have been largely followed
by the Irish Data Protection Commissioner.
