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

I move amendment No. 182:

In page 23, to delete line 22.

Amendments Nos. 182, 185 and 187 concern the provision that only information relevant to the health of the adopted person will be released. Information that is relevant to a person's health is subject to change over time. The affected person should not have to wait until he or she is seriously ill before seeking out relevant family medical history. Amendment No. 198 is similar.

Amendments Nos. 183 and 184 propose to delete the wording "to which the application relates only” from the information that should be provided to affected people. We believe this represents a restriction on the information provided. For example, if someone has cancer and as a result applies for a family medical history, according to the Bill only medical information relating to cancer will be given. What if information relating to heart disease or another medical condition is available on the file? This is particularly relevant for hereditary conditions that an adopted person may have, and would not know to ask for.

Amendment No. 186 proposes to delete the requirement for the information to be provided to a medical practitioner. The Department's data protection impact assessment states that this measure is necessary in order to mitigate the risks of a genetic relative being identified. Any identifying information, however, will have already been removed, so the requirement to release the information to a medical practitioner is completely unnecessary and an unnecessary breach of the affected person's privacy.

Amendment No. 188 seeks to give children under the age of 16 the right to their medical information through an application made by their adoptive parents.