I propose to take Questions Nos. 304 to 308, inclusive, together.
As referenced, payslips are now being made available to serving and retired staff, paid through the Department’s schools employee payroll service, in two formats. Firstly the paper payslip is still available as an option, and secondly an e-payslip can now be delivered electronically to a recipient’s Digital Postbox should they choose to avail of this service.
The e-payslip is being provided on an opt-in basis and recipients’ may select the format by which they wish to receive their payslip.
The Office of the Government Chief Information Officer manages this service which uses encryption and other security tools and techniques to safeguard the data. In addition, my Department also undertook its own assessment of the data protection implications of using this service before deciding to use the Digital Postbox. This assessment included consultation with my Department’s Data Protection Officer who was satisfied with the content of the DPIA and that relevant risks were identified and mitigated against.
Access to the Digital Postbox is authenticated via MyGovID using a two-factor authentication process. This is designed to ensure that access to the Digital Postbox is safe and secure and that no other persons can access an individual’s account. This is the standard process in place to utilise the Digital Postbox to receive communications from public bodies.
I can confirm that officials from my Department engaged with officials from the Office of the Government Chief Information Officer, the Department of Social Protection, Teacher Representative Organisations and School Management Bodies, on the delivery of the e-payslips via the Digital Postbox.
Access to e-payslips via the Digital Postbox was made available to primary school teachers on 27th April 2023 and will be available to post primary school teachers on 18th May 2023.