Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick County, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

In terms of the principle of consent, a new mother would have to fill out a form saying that she has no problem with consent. That would actually be the net result of what we are doing and then there would be no point in having this in the first instance. The public service sharing of data that is happening as we speak will be completely undermined and not only for people who currently avail of public services. I would use the example of people in receipt of third level grants who may need to have information shared between Revenue and the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection. We will end up placing a major burden on the consumer of public services if we do not give a legal floor to what is currently taking place. I do not believe that Members of the Oireachtas want to create a scenario in which users of public service are inundated with bureaucratic overload. We would not be thanked for doing that.