Monday, October 21, 2013
Thousands of attempts to access porn, escort agencies, dating, gambling, and other banned websites have been made on Oireachtas computers in the past four months, the Irish Examiner can reveal.
The bids to log on were made by Leinster House staff, journalists, visitors, and contractors between May and September. The details released under the Freedom of Information Act show 39,839 attempts were made to access banned sites on Dáil and Seanad-linked equipment in four months.
And while Oireachtas officials said up to two thirds of the bids are the result of spam or “pop-ups” adverts — meaning they should not be considered genuine attempts to visit the sites — no such explanation exists for thousands of incidents.
The records show:
- Between May 17 and Sept 13 a total of 39,839 attempts to visit websites banned in the Oireachtas were made from within Leinster House;
- These include 1,619 cases of pornography, 6,423 reports of “provocative attire”, 1,147 cases of nudity, 268 of “incidental nudity”, and 28 web pages containing “sexual materials”;
- Of these cases, 38% (1,170) have not been linked to spam or pop-up pages;
- Among the porn websites accessed were www.modernandmature.com, www.hotwomen-magazine.com, www.westcoastbikini.com, and www.pinupdoll.com;
- Dating websites were accessed on taxpayer-funded Oireachtas computers 44 times during the period, including “user e-mail log-in” links, indicating the records are not spam-related;
- Escort websites also appear on the list, including specific escort profiles at www.dublinindependentescorts.com and www.escorts-ireland.com;
- Gambling websites like www.push.skybet.com and www.push10t.racingpost.com — which allow users to bet repeatedly on live sporting events — were accessed 22 times, as were holiday destination locations www.greekislandweddinginspirations.com and www.mysardinia.com;
- Other hyperlinks include multiple swimwear websites; www.victoriassecret.co.uk.
While the documents contain detailed information on the computer history of more than 500 Oireachtas civil servants, journalists at Leinster House, visitors, and contractors to the facility, no records are available for sitting TDs and senators.
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