The controversial request by the Dept of Education asking that all parents submit their child’s PPS numbers to schools and the department, unfolded this week as media stations reacted to the news.

Last week, the department issued an information note informing parents that they will be now be requesting children’s PPS numbers for their new online database, stating that the information collected would be ‘shared with other departments’ including Dept of Social Protection and the HSE.

News and social media outlets have reacted to the request, and Schooldays.ie has been following the story closely. Here is a summary of the reaction from the different media stations around the country:

TheJournal.ie responded with an article with an interview with Special advisor to Europol’s Cybercrime Centre, Brian Honan, calling it a “worrying overreach of the State”.

Today,The Irish Independent wrote about how an online database that included student’s PPS numbers would ‘cut through the red tape’ for teachers and schools. Read it here.

Carol O’Doherty from the Irish Examiner reported today that parents must submit children’s information to the Dept of Education, or these details will be found from other departments, she writes:

“Parents have been told they will be unable to withhold their children’s PPS numbers from a controversial new Department of Education database as the information will be found from the Department of Social Protection instead.”

The Department stated in the ‘Information Note’ that they will hold the information of the students until he/she is 30 years old, which has prompted concerns from data security experts and solicitors, that this may breach the Data Protection Law.

Do you agree with this story? Should the Dept of Education have compulsory rights to your children’s PPSN and should they share information with other state departments? Please have your say in the comment sections

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