Mark Ward (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 156:

In page 21, line 26, after “her” to insert “, records containing”.

This group of amendments relates to a person's medical information. The amendments are very similar to the group we discussed previously in the context of people's personal data and people having the fundamental right under EU law to access those data, not merely the information contained in a record. The amendments seek to strengthen the Bill to ensure every effort is made to provide adoptees with their records and not just the information contained within the records, which are two entirely different things.

Apart from the fact that this restriction is in breach of GDPR, there is also a real danger of vital medical information being withheld by not providing a full schedule of records, and instead only providing information that is in the records, to the affected persons. We also consider it inevitable that complaints will be made to the Data Protection Commission.

There is concern that the Bill seeks to set out the information contained in records as opposed to a full schedule of records, as required under GDPR. If a person is not provided with a full schedule of records, he or she will not be able to ascertain what has been held back and this will inhibit the person's ability to know about records that have been withheld.

Amendment No. 164 seeks to broaden the scope of the data controller and requires that the data controller make every effort to locate, and provide the applicant with, all information relating to him or her.