Inquiry into how law centre files left in dump

THE DATA Protection Commissioner is investigating how confidential records of clients of a Dublin law centre ended up in a rubbish dump without being shredded.

The commissioner, Billy Hawkes, began the investigation in March after receiving a complaint from William Trent, a client of Ormond Quay law centre, whose file was among those thrown out in 24 bags of general office rubbish last July.

Mr Trent had approached the centre in 2006 seeking legal advice and representation in relation to a dispute he had with Dublin City Council.

After waiting for an appointment for almost a year, he made a freedom of information request to the board seeking access to his file. He was told that, after “an extensive search”, no records could be found in relation to his application.

He sought an internal review but was again told no records existed. No mention was made up to that point that his files had been thrown out with the rubbish.

The Legal Aid Board closed the centre last December, shortly after The Irish Times wrote about the disposal of the records, which included bank statements, passport details, medical reports and copies of wills.

The article referred to an inventory of documents which included Mr Trent’s case, though he was not named.

In January, the board informed Mr Trent for the first time that his papers were “inadvertently disposed of with the ordinary refuse some time ago”. It also apologised.

Mr Trent submitted a further freedom of information request which, this time, elicited at least one document from the relevant period.

Questioned about why this document had not surfaced before, a board spokesman said it was an inventory of material disposed of in July 2007 which had Mr Trent’s name on it.

The inventory indicated that Mr Trent had made a query to a solicitor, not that he had made an application or that any such application had been thrown out.