WICKLOW, Ireland—In a case that has drawn national attention and involved credit unions, two directors of a private investigation company have pleaded guilty to “to consenting, conniving or neglecting to stop alleged breaches of the data protection laws” during 2013. The two directors of MCK Rentals, Ltd., Margaret Stuart and Wendy Martin, pleaded guilty at Bray District to one sample charge in relation to unlawfully passing information to Tullamore Credit Union, according to The Independent. MCK Rentals Ltd also pleaded guilty to five charges of obtaining access to personal data held by the Department of Social Protection and the Health Service Executive during the same period, without the authority of the organization's data controllers, and giving the data to someone else, the Independent reported.
The charges follow an investigation by the Assistant Commissioner at the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner, Tony Delaney, into credit unions suspected of obtaining personal data of individuals who were in arrears, and whether unlawful means had been used to obtain that information.
The Independent reported that MCK Rentals Ltd had contacted both the Department of Social Protection and the HSE's Primary Care Reimbursement Service by phone, and by "blagging" and misrepresenting themselves as being someone else had unlawfully obtained new addresses for people.
Judge David Kennedy was quoted as calling the case a “very serious breach of data protection laws, “ and he fined the two directors €10,500 for using "subterfuge."
Credit unions that have been involved in the investigation include St Mary's Parish Credit Union in Limerick, Caherdavin District Credit Union in Limerick, Portlaoise Credit Union, Port Arlington Credit Union in Co Laoise, the Tullamore Credit Union in Co Offaly, the Athy Credit Union in Co Kildare and the Monesterevin Credit Union in Co Kildare.