Minister for Social and Family Affairs Martin Cullen told the Dáil today a high-level group has been established to review access to confidential information following leaks from his department.
He was replying to Fine Gael spokeswoman Olwyn Enright, who asked what plans he had to detect improper access in the future.
Mr Cullen said a department official had been sacked as a result of the leaks, while another had resigned before disciplinary action could be taken.
"The action taken has been quite severe; people have lost their jobs," Mr Cullen said. Several other department officials were cautioned about their conduct.
Mr Cullen said there had been only three cases since 2002 and, while he did not wish to minismise their importance, he insisted abuse of position did not take place on a large scale.