Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Amendment No. 48 is quite substantial. The information obtained is quite sensitive and we have discussed the need for confidentiality. Recently, we saw a case of cyberbullying involving a group of people threatening a young fellow with disclosure. We have also heard of other cases and we probably know people who ended up very stressed or who took their own lives because their personal details or lifestyle were exposed through social media or newspapers. It is additional stress for them. I am trying to make the disclosure of information obtained about a person who has managed to obtain recognition of his or her gender an offence. It is quite an intrusive process at the end of the day and someone should not end up being abused because of the information. This information is very technical and this is the way it should be. It is between the person and the registration body and that is where it should stay. Nobody is entitled to get my birth certificate as far as I know. I must apply for it myself. Nobody should be entitled to disclose information.

Other legislation probably covers this, but it is appropriate to outline somewhere in the Bill that this is an offence. The gender indicator on a form or passport is the business of the person involved, and nobody else is entitled to go into the background and disclose what one has put in any previous documentation and use it for a wrong purpose. The Official Secrets Act covers many of the people I have mentioned, but I am not sure whether that Act fully covers everything in the Bill. If it does, then perhaps rather than this amendment, all that is needed is a reference somewhere stating the Bill is compliant with the Official Secrets Act or that it falls under its guidelines. If the amendment goes too far, perhaps the Minister can look at something else on Report Stage. In this day and age, when information can be obtained with the press of a button, we have seen too often how quickly material goes around and how people have lost information. Some people are mischievous with the information they come across and the intention of the amendment is to prevent this.