Child protection records

fuzzyhead

Hi. This is a bit of an odd one and I can't find any info off the net.

I have a friend who over 30 years ago was been given a very rough life by her mother. There was complaints made to social welfare and visits from social services to the house. My question is, is there any way those records can be got now?

MadsL

Probably unlikely the records still exist but depending on the data retention periods in use at the office concerned making an access request is quite easy.

http://www.dataprotection.ie/docs/Accessing_Your_Personal_Information/14.htm

But....

Restrictions on access to medical data and social work data.

The Data Protection (Access Modification) (Health) Regulations, 1989 (S.I. No. 82 of 1989) provide that health data relating to an individual should not be made available to the individual, in response to an access request, if that would be likely to cause serious harm to the physical or mental health of the data subject. A person who is not a health professional should not disclose health data to an individual without first consulting the individual’s own doctor, or some other suitably qualified health professional.

Similar provisions apply in respect of social work data. The Data Protection (Access Modification) (Social Work) Regulations, 1989 (S.I. No. 83 of 1989) provide that social work data relating to an individual should not be made available to the individual in response to an access request, if that would be likely to cause serious harm to the physical or mental health or emotional condition of the data subject. The regulations apply to social work carried on by Ministers, local authorities, health boards, or any voluntary or other body that receives public funding for this work.