Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005 section 265

Sharing of Information

Section 265 governs the sharing of personal data between specified public bodies for defined welfare, housing, and related purposes, subject to data protection safeguards.

• Specified bodies may share personal data with one another only for "relevant purposes" — principally determining entitlement to social welfare benefits, student grants, legal aid, childcare support, automatic enrolment pensions, and social housing assessments or allocations.
• The body seeking the data must supply the individual's Personal Public Service Number (PPSN) and satisfy the data controller of the holding body that the information is genuinely relevant to the transaction in question.
• Where shared data turns out to be inaccurate, the body that discovers the error must confirm the correct details with the individual and inform the other body of the correction.
• Any person who knowingly uses another person's PPSN to seek or transfer data held by a specified body, without lawful authority, commits a criminal offence.