Health Service Executive – €65,000 Fine (Ireland, 2020)

€65,000Data Protection Commission18 August 2020Ireland
final
ePrivacy
Fine

General GDPR enforcement action

This case relates to broader data protection obligations, not specifically to cookie or consent banner compliance. It is not included in cookie statistics or the Risk Calculator.

The Health Service Executive in Ireland was fined for not properly disposing of personal documents, leading to a data breach. This matters because it shows the importance of securely handling sensitive information to protect people's privacy.

What happened

The Health Service Executive failed to properly dispose of documents containing personal data, resulting in a data breach.

Who was affected

Patients whose personal information was included in the improperly disposed documents were affected.

What the authority found

The Data Protection Commission found that the Health Service Executive did not take adequate measures to protect personal data, violating GDPR's security requirements.

Why this matters

This case highlights the need for companies to have strong data protection practices in place. Small businesses should ensure they securely dispose of any documents containing personal information.

GDPR Articles Cited

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Art. 5(1)(f) GDPR
Art. 32(1) GDPR
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Art. 5(1)(f) GDPR
Art. 32(1) GDPR

Original data from scraper before AI verification against source document.

National Law Articles

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Section 111 Data Protection Act 2018
Section 110 Data Protection Act 2018
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national law identified
Full Legal Summary
Detailed

The Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC) commenced inquiry IN-19-9-1 in respect of one personal data breach notified by the HSE to the DPC. The personal data breach occurred when documentation containing the personal data of 78 individuals, including special category personal data in respect of 6 of those data subjects, were disposed of in a public recycling centre. The list was created in Cork University Maternity Hospital, but was discovered by a member of the public in a public recycling area in Cork County.One personal data breach has been notified by the HSE to the DPC. The personal data breach occurred when documentation containing the personal data of 78 individuals, including special category personal data in respect of 6 of those data subjects, were disposed of in a public recycling centre. The list was created in Cork University Maternity Hospital, but was discovered by a member of the public in a public recycling area in Cork County. The decision found that the HSE infringed Articles 5(1)(f) and 32(1) of the GDPR by failing to implement appropriate technical and organisational measures to ensure a level of security appropriate to the risk presented by its use and disposal of hardcopy documents containing patients’ personal data.

Violations (1)

Cookies Placed Before Consent
critical

Non-essential cookies (tracking, advertising) are placed on the user's device before obtaining valid consent.

Art. 6(1) GDPR

Related Enforcement Actions (0)

No other enforcement actions found for Health Service Executive in IE

This is the only recorded action for this entity in this jurisdiction.

Details

Fine Date

18 August 2020

Authority

Data Protection Commission

Fine Amount

€65,000

GDPRhub ID

gdprhub-3178

About this data

Data: GDPRhub (noyb.eu)
Licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
AI-verified and classified

Cite as: Cookie Fines. Health Service Executive - Ireland (2020). Retrieved from cookiefines.eu

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