Alleged INM data breach likely to be raised when Dáil resumes

Opposition politicians expect to raise the alleged data breach at Independent News & Media (INM) when the Dáil resumes next week after the Easter recess.

A number of Ministers also said they expected the issue to be discussed at Wednesday’s Cabinet meeting, though sources said that the matter was not on the formal agenda circulated to members in recent days.

A spokeswoman for the Minister for Communications, Denis Naughten, said he did not intend to raise the matter on Wednesday, but that he had been briefed by officials, and would respond to his colleagues if questioned.

The Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement (ODCE) is to apply next week to have High Court inspectors appointed to INM on foot of concerns about the proposed purchase of Newstalk radio and an alleged data breach. Newstalk is owned by businessman Denis O'Brien, the largest shareholder in INM.

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The application is to be heard on April 16th, and the affidavit grounding the application has been served on INM and filed in the High Court but has not yet been opened in court. Details contained in the affidavit have been the subject of media reports, however.

The affidavit criticises former INM chairman Leslie Buckley for disclosing to Mr O'Brien the name of an internal whistleblower who made a protected disclosure about the affairs of the company in 2016, The Irish Times has learned.

Oireachtas committee

Data Protection Commissioner Helen Dixon is expected to face questions from TDs next week about the alleged data breach at INM. She is due to appear before the Oireachtas communications committee on Tuesday.

Green Party leader Eamon Ryan said he would question Ms Dixon on the alleged INM data breach at the hearing. He described the alleged breach, which is said to have involved scrutiny of staff emails, as "hugely concerning" on a number of levels.

Mr Ryan added that committee members will want Ms Dixon to detail the sanctions that could be applied to such a data breach and the timeframe for concluding such an investigation.

Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin is likely to discuss whether and how to raise the INM issues with his senior TDs and advisers later this week.

Mr Martin expressed “profound concern” last weekend at the events in INM, saying that he was “taken aback”. He said it raised questions about the independence of the media and the health of democracy.

On Monday Mr Martin responded to a front page story in the Irish Independent – which suggested that he was under pressure from his own party – by tweeting a picture of the newspaper's front page with the comment: "I have to compliment the very special effort made this morning in the Independent. My support for journalistic independence makes page 8."

Political wisdom

Some Fianna Fáil sources expect Mr Martin to raise the INM data breach next week, but others are cautious about the political wisdom of seeming to criticise the management of the country’s largest media group.

A spokesman for Labour leader Brendan Howlin said the party was considering it, but that it was "hard to see it not being raised".

Sinn Féin sources expect party leader Mary Lou McDonald to address the issue before the Dáil returns.

Other TDs said privately they were considering how they could use Dáil privilege to discuss the issues raised at INM.

Ian Drennan, head of the ODCE, has told the High Court it is focusing on 19 "persons of interest" in the data breach, including journalists and executives at the group and lawyers for the Moriarty Tribunal.

The tribunal made adverse findings against Mr O’Brien, who has repeatedly rejected its conclusion. The ODCE also says that a company owned by Mr O’Brien paid for the examination of the INM data by outside consultants.