Jonathan O'Brien (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State, Deputy O'Donovan, for bringing the Bill before the House. I acknowledge and thank him for the offer a number of weeks ago of a briefing on the Bill which is quite technical and his offer tonight of a further briefing in the lead up to Committee Stage should we require one. The Bill has been through the Seanad where the Minister of State took on board some of the recommendations made. Sinn Féin will be supporting the Bill, but we will take up the Minister of State's offer of a briefing with his officials in the lead up to Committee Stage to discuss some amendments we propose to table.

As stated by the Minister of State, the Bill is not only about the sharing of data, it is also about the governance of data being shared. This is critical because there is a balance to be struck between the sharing of data and privacy. As we all know, there is a constitutional right to privacy. The Library and Research Service analysis of the Bill touched on this constitutional right and how it was balanced in the Bill. As we are all aware, following pre-legislative scrutiny of the Bill last year by the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, the committee produced a report in July and many of its recommendations were taken on board by the Government and are reflected in the published Bill, which is welcome.

Technology is advancing rapidly and while there are advantages in that regard, with those advantages come increased responsibilities, which is the purpose of the Bill. In the context of the recent legislative changes surrounding data protection, it is timely. In essence, the Bill is about providing a legal framework for the sharing of data between public bodies and institutions to improve service delivery. We all know the advantages of improved service delivery not only to the bodies concerned, financially, but also to the citizens who benefit from those services, but it is important that there be safeguards in place in the sharing of personal data between these bodies. The Bill, in terms of the data governance body to be established by the Minister, provides those safeguards. The information portal is a critical aspect in people knowing what information is being shared, how it is being shared, the purpose for which it is being shared and the duration for which data will be retained by a public body.

An issue I have not seen covered in the Bill - as I have not studied it in detail, it may be covered - is a mechanism by which a citizen can have data held by public bodies corrected or removed. As I said, I have not studied the Bill in detail, but I will do so in greater detail in the drafting of amendments. If the issue is covered in the Bill, the Minister of State might comment on the mechanism by which a citizen who does not agree with the validity of the sharing of data can have them removed or changed. The sharing of data between public bodies is about the streamlining of public services. I do not believe there is anyone in this House who would be opposed to the streamlining of public services, the benefits of which include determining people's entitlements, identifying inefficiencies in the system and correcting false information held by a particular public body once shared with other public bodies.

As I said, Sinn Féin will be supporting the Bill, albeit with one or two amendments that we would like to see made. We recognise that there is a balance to be struck between the interests of privacy and data protection and the responsibility of the State and public bodies to ensure effective public service delivery. There is no trade-off between these rights and responsibilities. In other words, the Bill provides for the effective delivery of public services, while at the same time safeguarding the interests of privacy and data protection.

Data sharing is not a novel idea. It is already in place in some public bodies. We know from the regulatory impact analysis carried out at pre-legislative scrutiny stage that it already occurs between numerous public bodies and institutions under existing legal provisions and frameworks. It is worth noting that the regulatory impact analysis concluded that public services would deteriorate if the sharing of data was to cease. In other words, the analysis carried out as part of the pre-legislative scrutiny process highlighted the efficiency and importance of data sharing and noted that if data sharing between public bodies was to cease, the impact on the provision of public services would be detrimental. It also recognised that the primary policy issue facing the Government in the passage of the legislation was that an overly restrictive interpretation of data protection laws could preclude or discourage some public bodies from sharing data, which could, in turn, lead to the inefficiencies in the system I mentioned and, in effect, impact detrimentally on the provision of public services. While this is justifiable, data protection is a right that cannot be traded or diluted. That is the reason we need the safeguards provided for in the Bill.

As I said, the information portal is critical and welcome, but I would like to hear from the Minister of State if provision is made in the Bill for a mechanism by which citizens can have false information held by and shared between public bodies corrected. Sinn Féin will support the Bill, but we would like to schedule a meeting with the Minister of State's officials to discuss amendments we would like to see made but which may not be necessary. To ensure we will not take up time unnecessarily on Committee Stage, we would like to discuss the amendments with the officials. We will be in touch with them to schedule a meeting, I hope next week, but it is dependent on the deadline for the tabling of amendments to the Bill. Sinn Féin will work with the Minister of State to ensure adequate scrutiny and the passage of the legislation as quickly as possible.

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