Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour) | Oireachtas source

It is interesting that Mr. Sunderland has articulated this point. I speak from the research perspective and specifically in the health space to which Mr. Sunderland referred. I am going a little bit off kilter and am not speaking directly to the legislation here, but I am a great believer in the idea that if we are talking about longitudinal studies and anonymising data and so on, there is a mine of information that could be used effectively for positive societal outcomes, particularly in the area of health. I am trying to understand at present if there is a move or an initiative that would allow for that. We have the unique patient identifiers but is there a mechanism that we can drive in a country that is open and has a very strong research infrastructure, where we can begin to look at data and analyse it and drive positive outcomes?