James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Deputy has made clear the intention of the amendment. It removes from me the right to put in place provisions to inform people of their individual health identifier and makes it an obligation upon me that everyone would have to be informed. This would have major cost implications and it might also compromise the privacy of the system.

I have no issue with the principle of what Deputy Ó Caoláin is suggesting in terms of the right of people to know their IHI. That is an absolute given. However, to put the onus on us to ensure that everyone knows their IHI - people may not wish to know, may not need to know or may not be interested in knowing - would put additional costs upon the State which I do not believe are warranted at this juncture, especially given that we are still struggling to continue our economic recovery. Putting on additional expenses at this point would not appear to be wise.

I understand fully where the Deputy is coming from and I have no issue with it in principle in any way. It is an absolute right that people will have to know their IHI and they will be able to find it out easily if they wish to know. However, to put an onus on the State to write or communicate to everyone along with all the associated privacy and security issues would be quite expensive and I do not believe it is warranted.

Health care providers can make available to a patient his IHI should the patient want it. Indeed, the optimum way to convey the IHI to a person is in the health care setting, where health care workers can verify the person's identity and take the opportunity to explain the uses and value of the IHI. It is also important to note that the Bill explicitly provides in section 11 that no one will be denied a health service to which he or she is otherwise entitled simply because they do not know their IHI, do not have an IHI or have no wish to provide their IHI or identifying particulars.

This is purely a register. It does not confer any rights or take away any rights. Let us be clear: there is no intention in any way to discourage or prevent interested persons from being advised of their IHI. If there are difficulties then the Minister can invoke section 5(4)(a) and introduce measures to deal directly with the specifics of any problems to enable persons to obtain their IHIs. The approach in the Bill is the most appropriate. While I appreciate the Deputy's objective, I will not be accepting his amendment on this occasion.