Tusla Chief Executive Bernard Gloster has admitted that one data breach is "one too many" given how sensitive the information related to children the child and family agency deals with.
Last year, Tusla reported 137 data breaches to the Data Protection Commissioner Helen Dixon, prompting Ms Dixon's office to open up three separate investigations.
Speaking on RTÉ's This Week, Mr Gloster said the majority of the 137 breaches came into the "lower risk" categories but said there are still concerns.
In one breach, Tusla accidentally disclosed the contact and location data of a mother and child victim to an alleged abuser.
Concerning that case he said "then there is an increased risk".
Mr Gloster said Tusla is trying to address its system to "mitigate security risks" and he is confident staff are now "more attuned" to the sensitivities of information they are handling.
He said in relation to the breaches, there are no indications anyone acted maliciously and it was more likely attributed to "human error".
"Were any of our staff to be found to do it in a deliberate or negligent manner, they can expect the highest levels of accountability," he said.
Mr Gloster said while no Tusla worker has been held accountable in relation to the breaches, there is one investigation underway into how one breach occurred.
He said where people were the subject of a data breach, they are notified of the breach and efforts made to correct it.
He said in the particular case of the mother and child "very significant steps" would be made to address that.
Tusla receive around 60,000 referrals a year, which he said leads to a very high volume of work and processing of information.
He admitted that adds to the pressures staff face and there is a very significant intensity to their work and that does add to the "risk of error".
When asked about potential security risks with Tusla staff sharing offices with HSE staff in some areas, he said they are very "attentive" to this.
He said the new NICCS system means that every referral to Tusla goes into that computer system and there is less risk of generating paper.
He also highlighted the benefits of co-location such as having public health nurses on site who are intrinsic to the care of children.
He said a security check of the NCCIS system is ongoing to identify risks related to it.
He also said they have started to introduce very significant changes where staff cannot use printers without ID cards.
"Tusla deals with a lot of legacy systems and before the NCCIS my significant concern is in relation to paper records," he said.
