Mother and her autistic son call on Department of Health to apologise after compiling a secret dossier on them
Unlawful things happened Deputy Data Protection Commissioner
RT Investigates report following Whistleblower Disclosure
A mother and her autistic son who discovered that the Department of Health had been keeping a secret dossier on them have told RT Investigates they have never had an apology despite the Data Protection Commissioner (DPC) ruling this summer that it amounted to serious interference, and which resulted in the DPC imposing a fine on the Department of Health. Speaking publicly for the first time in an RT Investigates report to be broadcast on Prime Time tonight at 9.35pm on RT One and RT Player, the family describe how the revelations have impacted on them.
When Adam Keogh was just 5 years old, his family had been among several families who took legal action against the State to secure special needs education for their children. Their case was not for compensation but to secure special needs supports in primary school. Adam got some supports and the case lay dormant. But 12 years later the Department of Health continued to work on its legal strategy to manage the cases taken by the families. Without telling the families or getting their consent, the Department of Health went to the HSE and asked for what it had on file on the dormant cases, including medical notes.
The sharing of their private patient information would have remained secret had it not been for a whistleblower in the Department of Health. In 2020, Shane Corr a senior civil servant, realised he could see the families' files. Of greater concern to him was the fact that he could read everything that transpired in a private consultation between members of the Keogh family and their HSE doctor.
Shane Corr: I saw something that frankly I can only describe as shocking. I saw an email from an official at the Department of Health to a doctor who is working for the HSE explaining that they were involved in litigation with one of her patients and asking for information from this doctor. There was no way once I saw the piece of correspondence from the Department saying, we're asking for information from you about a child but we're not going to ask for consent to get it', I was ever going to let that lie.
The Department of Health had obtained documents which contained confidential and sensitive details from a consultation between the Keogh Family and their HSE doctor without the family's knowledge or permission. Senior civil servant Shane Corr tried to raise his concerns. Then, in March 2021, he became a whistleblower and revealed to RT Investigates that highly confidential information on the wellbeing of people and their families was shared, and stored, in departmental dossiers. The information was to be used tactically to decide the most opportune time to settle or reactivate long-dormant High Court cases. The people involved, who had been diagnosed with autism, had not been informed. Neither had their parents.
Following Shane Corr's disclosures and the RT broadcast, the Department of Health said what had been done was part of normal litigation and was entirely lawful, proper and appropriate.
In an Oireachtas Health Committee on May 5, 2021, Sinn F in TD David Cullinane raised the issue: Some information of a very serious and sensitive medical and educational nature was being held on children, and that was being collected, in some instances without, in my view, the knowledge of the parents involved.
Robert Watt, Secretary General of the Department of Health replied: I am sorry, but the Deputy is now repeating once again allegations which are not true and which we have comprehensively addressed as being not true. We have set out more than 100 pages of documents that set out the position here, and what the Deputy has said is just not true. It is regrettable that motivation has been twisted in a way to suggest something untoward was being done by officials, when they were trying to close cases which have gone on for too long and in which it was in the interest of all parties that they be closed.
He also told the Oireachtas Health Committee that on the eve of the RT Investigates report he sought to intervene directly and called the then Director General of RT . We did not believe the allegations were correct, and I set out why we did not believe they were, and that I did not think it was appropriate for RT to make such serious allegations. RT however broadcast the report as planned.
After the broadcast, Robert Watt personally wrote to those who were potentially impacted to reassure them that the information was consistent with, and typical of, the sort of information which arises in litigation. He said Shane Corr's disclosures had already been examined and there was no basis to suggest wrongdoing .
But separately the Data Protection Commissioner had begun its own inquiry. Just one week after the RT broadcast, the DPC went into the Department of Health to see did the files reported on actually exist. This summer the Data Protection Commission's decision was published.
The report says the Department's practices were excessive, lacked transparency, and had no clear policy. The DPC report also criticised the level to which people in the Department of Health, with no involvement in litigation, could access the electronic files.
Tony Delaney, Deputy Data Protection Commissioner: Our decision says unlawful things happened from a data protection perspective. They broke the law, they've been penalized for it, they've been reprimanded for it. There's a ban on processing which took immediate effect. The Department got caught out very badly in this case, but others could be doing the very same thing today. And that's why they all need
Europe Stories
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
07/10/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the latest Long-Term Supported (LTS) release of Dalet Flex. Build...
10/09/2026
RT to Broadcast Amgen Irish Open free-to-air
New multi-year agreement will see RT continue to bring the Amgen Irish Open to Irish audiences
Ryder Cup hig...
10/09/2026
More than 30 women report allegations of sexual harassment, misogyny and bullying within National Ambulance Service
Tonight on RT Prime Time, 9:35pm, RT One ...
10/09/2026
Series 3 of Nero's Class begins Friday 11 September on RT Listen
The third...
09/09/2026
New parts aimed at hip-hop and pop productions
The latest update to Celemony's innovative virtual session musician expands the collection of built-in in...
09/09/2026
Save up to 40% until 21 September 2026
Sonarworks are currently running their Autumn Sale, with discounts of up to 40% currently available across their rang...
09/09/2026
Upcoming title officially launches in September 2026
Bjooks' celebrations for this year's 909 Day will be welcome news amongst drum machine lovers, ...
09/09/2026
September 9 2026, 22:35 (PDT) Cinema Sunshine Becomes Japan's First Exhibit...
09/09/2026
Wednesday 9 September 2026
Tom Daley adds final stitch to giant Baa-Ewe' t...
09/09/2026
Red Seat Ventures Integrates Barometer into Speakeasy to Maximize Podcast Revenu...
09/09/2026
Baselight-powered color comes natively to Media Composer, connecting creative de...
09/09/2026
RT brings three packed days of live radio, entertainment, news, weather and fun
Join RT Radio 1: Morning Ireland, Oliver Callan, Today with David McCullagh,...
08/09/2026
Built for rap producers, by rap producers
Sauceware Audio, the independent plug-in company founded by Grammy-nominated producer Jacob (Travis Scott, 21 Sava...
08/09/2026
Classic Sound Techniques design revived
Warm Audio's latest release delivers a meticulous recreation of the preamp circuitry employed by the Sound Techn...
08/09/2026
Latest soft synth inspired by the Memorymoog
XILS Lab have just launched a software instrument that draws its inspiration from Moog's iconic Memorymoog,...
08/09/2026
September 08, 2026 NORTHRIDGE, Calif. - Soundcraft today announced the launch of its Signature Plus Series Analog Connected Mixing Consoles. As the next genera...
08/09/2026
Tuesday 8 September 2026
Sky Go gets a major upgrade for Sky Glass and Sky Stream customers
Today, Sky launches a new version of the Sky Go app for Sky Glass ...
08/09/2026
Documentary thriller simulating a Russian attack on UK soil will culminate in a live final episode reuniting the playersTuesday 8 September 2026
Trailer releas...
08/09/2026
Tuesday 8 September 2026
Jamie Demetriou and Amelia Dimoldenberg to host next t...
08/09/2026
Wuppertal September 8, 2026
Riedel Introduces New OnAir Headset PlatformRiedel Communications today announced the launch of its new OnAir headset platform, a...
08/09/2026
BERLIN, September 8, 2026 - J nger Audio will introduce a major expansion of its flexAI audio processing platform at IBC 2026. The flexAI system adds autonomous...
08/09/2026
New Vendor-Agnostic Broadband Intelligence Fabric Reduces Operational Complexity and Improves Service Quality for Broadband Service Providers SAN JOSE, Calif. -...
08/09/2026
Arvato Systems Brings TI Expertise to the Stage
Panels, workshops, and real-world examples at the TI-SUMMIT 2026
Arvato Systems, a partner of the TI-SUMMIT 2...
08/09/2026
On October 1, Apple Arcade is rolling out a lineup of fun new games for players ...
07/09/2026
Two new full-range, flat-response cabinets introduced
HeadRush have recently introduced a pair of new full-range, flat-response cabinets designed for player...
07/09/2026
Answering questions about AI in game audio
GameSoundCon, the largest professional conference for video game music and sound design, have announced that they...
07/09/2026
New directional headset mic on show at IBC
Just ahead of this week's IBC show, DPA have announced the launch of a new directional headset that's bee...
07/09/2026
We are not building systems to replace human decision-making; we are building systems that execute our decisions at machine speed. The media companies that win ...
07/09/2026
Monday 7 September 2026
Freddie Meredith joins cast of SNL UK ahead of start of Season 2
Freddie Meredith Images
ZIP (3MB)
Saturday Night Live UK announces ...
07/09/2026
Monday 7 September 2026
Sky and NFTS team up to launch new routes into screen careers
Sky has today announced a new apprenticeship programme, with application...
07/09/2026
Monday 7 September 2026
Sky Sports announces most comprehensive NFL coverage to...
07/09/2026
Dolby, MainConcept, Techex and J nger Audio will showcase the industry's first demonstration of Serial Audio Definition Model (S-ADM) in a cloud-based produ...
07/09/2026
dB Broadcast will showcase APIS Hive, its software platform for designing, deploying and managing modern broadcast infrastructures, at IBC 2026.
Developed from...
07/09/2026
552,000 streams on RT Player
The historic fight, which saw Katie Taylor become...
06/09/2026
Recreates Rolands TB-303 & MC-202
BS-203 MacroAcidizer is the first virtual instrument from Born Second, and it offers a recreation of two Roland classics -...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
05/09/2026
MK2 & Bass system control app improved
HEDD Audio have just launched a new and improved version of the control software that pairs with their MK2 and Bass m...
04/09/2026
Media organisations interested in the Media Innovation Europe 3.0 Business Innovation Synergizer (BIS) can now consult a new FAQ document providing additional a...
04/09/2026
Powerful new soft synth announced
Traveler is the first software instrument to be released by KeySolutions Sounds, and it's an ambitious one! Said to co...
04/09/2026
Free virtual instrument range expanded
The latest expansion of e-instruments' free Fragments series introduces a packed-down version of the company'...
04/09/2026
Company recognised for second time
Two years after winning an Engineering, Science & Technology Emmy Award for dxRevive Pro, Accentize have been recognised ...
04/09/2026
Bilbao - 3rd September 2026 -AgileTV, a leading provider of end-to-end TV and vi...
04/09/2026
RT ANNOUNCE NEW DRAMA THE MURDER OF MR. MOONLIGHT
BASED ON THE DISAPPEARANCE...
03/09/2026
Yospace will be at IBC from 11th - 14th September (booth 5.C78). For more inform...
03/09/2026
Create musical synth bass sounds from scratch
Anthony Marinelli Music have recently announced the launch of Bass DNA, a new online course that teaches music...
03/09/2026
Most powerful Tonex hardware to date
IK Multimedia's latest release introduces their most advanced Tonex hardware unit to date, combining their AI Machi...
03/09/2026
Upmix & downmix software upgraded
Penteo Audio Plugins have announced that the latest version of their powerful upmix and downmix software is now available....
03/09/2026
With the start of the new apprenticeship year, young talent has once again begun their professional careers at SGL Carbon's sites in Germany. Recently, the ...
Mother and her autistic son call on Department of Health to apologise after compiling a secret dossier on them
