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Table of Contents
Establishment of the Parties. 3
Purpose of the Memorandum of Understanding. 4
Responsibilities of each Party. 5
Data transfer, security and data storage. 6
Duration and Review of the Memorandum of Understanding. 7
This Memorandum of Understanding is made on 14th August 2023
between
The Central Statistics Office (the CSO), Skehard Road, Cork, T12 X00E
and
The Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration, and Youth (the DCEDIY), Block 1, Miesian Plaza, 50-58 Lower Baggot Street, Dublin 2, D02 XWI4
ADC Administrative Data Centre
CSO Central Statistics Office
MoU Memorandum of Understanding
JLG Joint Liaison Group
DCEDIY Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth
EU European Union
NCS-EYP National Childcare Scheme - Early Years Platform
ECCE Early Childhood Care & Education
AEYSP Annual Early Years Sector Profile
The CSO was established in 1949 and became a statutory body in 1994, under the Statistics Act, 1993.
The DCEDIY is a Department of the Government of Ireland.
The functions of the CSO are set out in the Statistics Act, 1993. In particular Section 10 states that the functions of the Office are the collection, compilation, extraction and dissemination for statistical purposes of information relating to economic, social and general activities and conditions in the State. The Office has the authority to co-ordinate official statistics compiled by public authorities to ensure, in particular, adherence to statistical standards and the use of appropriate classifications and has the authority to assess the statistical potential of the records maintained by public authorities and to ensure that the potential is realised. Furthermore, the CSO has legal obligations regarding the development, production and dissemination of European statistics under Regulation (EC) No. 223/2009 of 11 March 2009.
DCEDIY deals with policy and service developments relating to a number of very important groups in society. It seeks to co-ordinate and develop key actions across Government relating to children and young people. It also works on issues relating to some of our most vulnerable groups, including children at risk, children in the care of the State, and other vulnerable, minority, and disadvantaged groups. It emphasises inclusivity and support in the area of equality. It is responsible for international protection accommodation for those seeking asylum in Ireland and for disability services. The Department also deals with a range of important legacy issues from Ireland’s past. Finally, it deals with a large range of issues that are universal to society, including early learning and are for children, prevention and early intervention services, and support and advice for parents. DCEDIY has appointed Pobal as the Scheme Administrator for the Annual Early Years Sector Profile (AEYSP), Early Childhood Care & Education (ECCE), and National Childcare Early Years Platform (NCS-EYP) schemes. Pobal, a company limited by guarantee with the registration number 194360, was established in 1992 by the Government of Ireland.
Section 30 of the Statistics Act, 1993 provides that for the purpose of assisting the Office in the exercise of its functions, the Director General of the CSO may by delivery of a notice request any public authority to provide the Office with copies of records in its charge. Public authorities shall comply with any such request free of charge.
The purpose of this MoU is to clarify the roles and responsibilities of, as well as the areas of cooperation between, the CSO and the DCEDIY with regard to AEYSP, ECCE, NCS-EYP data.
This agreement is a MoU and is not intended to create binding or legal obligations on either Party. The MoU is entered into on the understanding that it is subordinate to the relevant legislation governing each Party.
This MoU also sets out a shared understanding of the parties in relation to data protection issues that may arise and roles relating to the compilation, transfer and use of this data. The processing of personal data of data subjects is governed by the Statistics Act, 1993 and the Data Protection Acts 1988-2018 and the General Data Protection Regulation.
The data controller for personal data is the DCEDIY. When the data is transferred to the CSO, the CSO becomes the data controller of the data that CSO holds. It follows then that it is the responsibility of the CSO to report any data breaches relating to the data, once it is in its possession.
In the event of a breach relating to data, the CSO will inform the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner (ODPC) and the Data Protection Officer of the DCEDIY and Pobal. The CSO will also inform the DCEDIY and Pobal of the breach through the Joint Liaison Group (JLG). This notification will be made within 24 hours. DCEDIY and Pobal will not be held responsible for any loss, damage or injury caused as a result of such a breach.
In the event of a breach relating to data the CSO will inform the DCEDIY and Pobal through the JLG, in advance, of any decision to issue a public statement in relation to the breach. Similarly, the DCEDIY will inform the CSO through the JLG, in advance, of any decision to issue a public statement in relation to the breach.
The DCEDIY and Pobal will not provide additional data or operational support in respect of the notification of data subjects in the event of a breach relating to CSO data.
Transfer and processing of the data shall be done in accordance with the Statistics Act, 1993, the Data Protection Acts 1988-2018, the General Data Protection Regulation, EU law and in accordance with the CSO’s Code of Practice, in particular its protocol on data matching where one or more datasets originate from outside of the CSO.
The transfer and processing of the data is covered by, inter alia, the following provisions:
It is envisaged that one copy of the Pobal will, on behalf of the DCEDIY, supply the data on a fortnightly basis; however, this may change depending on statistical needs.
Data will be retained, securely stored, and processed by the CSO in accordance with CSO and Administrative Data Centre Data Policies.
Pobal, on behalf of the DCEDIY, will provide the CSO with the data in an agreed format. Information on data formats and delivery frequency shall be provided by the Pobal in respect of the data files schedule. In accordance with CSO policies on the control of data the CSO will not copy this data onto removable media (including laptop computers) unless appropriate security provisions are in place (i.e., encryption and password access) and there is an agreed business need to do so, in which case the CSO will inform the DCEDIY and Pobal of such need via the JLG.
A DCEDIY-CSO Joint Liaison Group (JLG), to include Pobal, will be convened, in accordance with the CSO’s standard Data Governance Framework. The JLG will oversee the data sharing as agreed between the parties and summarised in this MoU.
The Terms of Reference (ToR) for the JLG will be agreed between the DCEDIY, Pobal and the CSO. The ToR will cover, amongst other things, membership of the JLG, frequency of meetings and scope of the JLG. Changes to the ToR must be jointly agreed by both parties.
This MoU will be published on the CSO website (www.cso.ie), the DCEDIY website (www.gov.ie), and the Pobal website (www.pobal.ie).
This MoU will remain in force until a new one is entered into or either the CSO or the DCEDIY revoke it. Depending on events, this MoU may be amended, subject to the mutual agreement of the DCEDIY and the CSO.
This MoU will be reviewed biennially by the both the DCEDIY and the CSO. Any changes to the MoU shall only be made with the mutual agreement of the DCEDIY and CSO.
Signed Signed
Padraig Dalton Kevin McCarthy
Central Statistics Office DCEDIY
Pádraig Dalton Kevin McCarthy
Director General Secretary General
Date: 14th August 2023 Date: 21 August 2023