Eoghan Murphy (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I have. In terms of the commitments that have been given to me by the insurance industry at our meetings, the industry has agreed that we need this database and it is willing to perform the necessary functions. We are using legislation to do this so as to ensure that there can be no uncertainty about what information is being sought and how it is to be presented. Following engagements of the working group with the industry, I have sought particular information that was committed to in the room, but the companies or their representative bodies then explained that they had experienced difficulty in providing it over concerns about where it would be shared, could it be subject to freedom of information requests, what would that mean for commercial sensitivity, etc. I take it in good faith that these are their legitimate concerns, but it speaks to the need to clarify legislatively for industry and ourselves the data protection and commercial laws in this regard so that, instead of going on a commitment that is given in a room or in writing, there will be no confusion at a later stage. It is important that we proceed legislatively, which I intend to do. Once the legislation is ready, I hope that it can be moved quickly through the Houses at the appropriate time.