TWO politicians have been prohibited from accessing the Dáil network of computers after failing to have their laptops encrypted.

All TDs and senators were warned last year that they would have to safeguard their laptops or else face a blackout from online Oireachtas facilities.

A second warning was then issued following a meeting of the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission in July, at which point 23 politicians still had their computers unsecured.

The latest figures show that two members of the Oireachtas – neither of whom has been identified – have failed to heed the final warning.

They have now been temporarily cut off from the Dáil network, meaning they cannot check their Oireachtas email accounts or any databases.

The decision to shut them out came after a report on laptop encryption was first presented last December warning of serious consequences if a politician's computer fell into the wrong hands. A meeting of the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission was told that if a laptop was lost or stolen, there was a risk of serious "financial or reputational" damage.

TDs and senators who had not had their computers secured were warned that if their laptop was lost or stolen, they could face being "sued" by a member of the public.

Politicians who failed to heed the warning were also told that they might "be personally liable for all costs and damages which may arise".

They were also told that the Houses of the Oireachtas would not cover the cost of any court case should an unencrypted laptop disappear.

Members of the Dáil can remotely access their emails and data relating to their personal expenses and other parliamentary business.

One TD said: "The amount of information on somebody's computer would completely depend on the individual themselves, and also how careful they were in storing it.

"Certainly, politicians would have information relating to their constituents, letters that they had received and so on. And some of that would be quite personal in nature."

The Houses of the Oireachtas Commission said that it would be writing again to the two remaining politicians who had failed to secure their computers.