Law centre closed after dumpingof records

The Legal Aid Board has closed down its law centre at Ormond Quay, days after The Irish Times revealed confidential records of hundreds of clients ended up in a rubbish dump without being shredded.

The board plans to take disciplinary proceedings against any staff found to have leaked information to the media and is considering asking An Garda Síochána to investigate the matter, its director of legal aid, Frank Brady, confirmed yesterday.

Mr Brady told Ormond Quay staff last Friday that the centre was being closed that afternoon because confidential information relating to clients had been disclosed to third parties. Staff were immediately transferred to other law centres in Dublin.

Reports in this newspaper had revealed that 24 bags of documents from Ormond Quay, including bank records, medical reports, copies of wills and passports and other sensitive information were put out for waste collection last July.

Clients whose records were thrown out were left in the dark when they inquired about their cases.

Yesterday, Mr Brady told The Irish Times the centre had been closed earlier than expected because of the disclosure of material but said it had been due to shut its doors after 25 years on December 21st. He said a Garda investigation was under consideration because of the provisions of the Official Secrets Act and the codes of conduct for solicitors and civil servants, all of which prohibited the release of confidential information.

Mr Brady said the board had informed the Data Protection Commissioner about the loss of records. This communication had taken place since the article appeared.

© 2007 The Irish Times

This article appears in the print edition of the Irish Times