Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

The context is on page 13 of the legislation where we have the definition of prescribed secondary sources. This definition includes a list of bodies that, on the enactment of the legislation, are immediately designated as secondary information sources. These include the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, the Minister for Education, the Minister for Health, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, the data controller of the Access to Institutional and Related Records archive, AIRR, the HSE, a registered adoption society, and an accredited body. Importantly, the definition also allows a Minister to designate a secondary information source under section 43 (2). The power of the Minister, that is me or any future Minister, to designate other groups as a secondary information source under this legislation is a key element.

I cannot accept amendments Nos. 93 to 101, and 107 and 108. They seek to expand the list of secondary information sources within the legislation itself. Again, I do not believe this is necessary because the power is already included under section 43(2), to designate other bodies, and any body so designated would be classified as a secondary information source.

Section 43(2) empowers a Minister to prescribe additional information sources. The proposed addition of amendments Nos. 94 to 108 is unnecessary. Importantly, it would also generate obligations on an unclear list of people. It is unclear who would come within the definition of an organisation involved in the care of a relevant person. That would appear to potentially engage every organisation that has provided a health or social care service at every stage of a person's life. What is being proposed here is an absolutely vast array of coverage, which goes far beyond the focus of what this Bill is trying to achieve. The list currently included in the published Bill was carefully considered through consultation with stakeholders and organisations that are currently operating in the area of adoption information release and tracing, or that hold specific sets of historical records.

Additionally, secondary information sources are relevant only in their obligation to safeguard relevant records under Part 7. This is very important. We are talking about the safeguarding element here. The legislation already provides a catch-all requirement for any person or organisation in possession of a relevant record, to safeguard it and to inform the authority that it holds that relevant record under section 46. There is already a catch-all provision there under section 46.

I intend to make regulations designating further relevant bodies and secondary information sources. Private entities, church bodies and religious congregations can be so designated. It is important in designing those regulations that they are carefully constructed to clearly and accurately identify the relevant holder of records. For example, Tusla now holds many of the institutional records, which people may believe are in the possession of religious congregations. As we are aware, a huge amount of the information that was held by the congregations, especially those who ran mother and baby home and county home institutions, has already been transferred over to Tusla. At different dioceses or parish levels there may be baptismal records, which would be highly valuable for relevant persons. Again, we are using the regulation power under the legislation to design it carefully so we can have regulations that target exactly the relevant record holders, so we can deliver records to people, rather than the extremely broad brush approach proposed here that brings far too much potential information far beyond what this legislation is designed to cover, and which causes real difficulties in the future.

I wish to be clear that there are mechanisms set out in the legislation, primarily the ability to designate a secondary information source under section 43(2), and separately, the ability of the catch-all subsection in section 46 to address issues of concern here.