Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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Question 70: To ask the Minister for Finance if the recent warning issued by his Department to other Departments with regards to the purchase of cloud computing services stems from any particular incident; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8625/10]

Martin Mansergh (Tipperary South, Fianna Fail)
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On 4 February 2010 the National Public Procurement Operations Unit (NPPOU) through the eTenders system issued a message to members of the eProcurement Network (public sector buyers on eTenders) stating that where the use of cloud computer systems are being considered, that it is essential to obtain prior legal advice due to the risk of liability to the State in areas of data protection, confidentiality and security.

The NPPOU considers this to be prudent advice to any prospective buyer of software or any other data management systems. Ensuring that the data is protected is a legislative requirement on all public bodies.

Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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Question 71: To ask the Minister for Finance the cloud computing systems that are in use in his Department; the safeguards that are in place regarding personal information and public data on those systems; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8634/10]

Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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No public cloud-based systems are used by my Department as all systems are hosted and operated internally.