AIB MOVED to reassure customers concerned about privacy yesterday after old files were found at a former landfill site in Co Cork, saying that most of the material recovered was shredded or illegible upon recovery.
The bank was informed on Thursday that AIB documentation had been identified among the material unearthed in Killacloyne, near the Glounthaune excavation site. Officials arrived on site yesterday morning to investigate.
The material appears to date from as far back as the 1970s. If so, it would not be subject to data protection laws introduced in 2003 requiring companies to ensure the safe destruction of unwanted documents.
One-and-a-half sacks of material relating to the company have been found. A spokesman said most of the contents of the sacks had either already been shredded or had deteriorated with age to the extent that they were illegible.
“The site is secure and AIB representatives will also remain there until it has been established that all legible AIB material has been identified. AIB has also informed the appropriate regulatory authorities.”
The spokesman declined to comment further on the nature of the material until the officials had completed their task.
AIB normally retained documents for up to 16 years after they were needed, the spokesman said, though currently this policy was overridden by the need to keep documents for longer in case they were needed by the planning tribunal.
Bank policy was to shred and recycle securely unwanted documents using approved external contractors, he added.
Cork Labour TD Kathleen Lynch said the discovery raised several serious questions that required immediate answers.
“We need to know the full extent of this. How many records were landfilled and over what time frame? How many people still alive are affected by this? What assurances can the AIB give that the problem has been fully contained?”
She said she welcomed the fact that the bank had reported the incident to the Financial Regulator and to the Data Protection Commissioner.
However, she said AIB should make it clear that, should an investigation by An Garda Síochána or other authorities prove necessary, it would co-operate fully.
She claimed that while the documents may date to the 1970s and 1980s, many of the people involved were still alive
Fine Gael Cork South Central TD Simon Coveney called on the Government to urgently reform Ireland’s data protection legislation in the light of the discovery.
“This is the second batch of sensitive personal documents that has been found at this single site. Breaches such as this of sensitive personal data can have extremely serious consequences for people involved, due not only to the compromise of personal details, but also to the potential for identity theft and other forms of fraud.”
Two months ago, confidential medical files of hundreds of people were uncovered at the same site. Hospital records from Cork Regional Hospital (now Cork University Hospital) and St Finbarr’s Hospital were found. After the discovery a security fence was built around the site and guards were posted.
The discovery prompted the Health Service Executive and Cork County Council to launch separate investigations.
These involved the careful removal of material from the dump and its transfer to a secure site for analysis.