Mr. Peter Lennon:

I thank the Deputy for the question, which goes to the core of this project. We make the point that public confidence is essential. Sometimes, people say things but, from our perspective, right from the outset, we have seen public trust and confidence in this as being key. We engaged at a very early stage with the Data Protection Commission, which stated that our engagement was open, constructive and substantial. We will have an ongoing relationship with the commission as the Bill is drafted and implemented. As regards audit, the commission has obviously stressed the privacy protection measures, about which we have had very careful regard.

Yesterday, in advance of this meeting, I looked at the number of times we mentioned transparency, governance and security, etc. On the provision in the Bill for the processing of summary care records, we make the point that it must be done in a secure processing environment. When it comes to the part of the Bill that deals with secondary purposes or management research purposes, we make the same point. As Mr. O'Connor pointed out, in care and treatment, identifiable patient information is obviously needed. That is restricted to the individual concerned and the person who is treating that individual. A very rigorous framework is in place in the area of information for management research and public policy and planning purposes, as dealt with in Part 3 of the Bill, which states that such information can only be requested when a substantial public interest is involved. The only time it can be requested is when the national health information authority is satisfied there is a substantial interest. If the request relates to identifiable patient information, it has to be clear as to why the research cannot rely on anonymised or pseudonymised information. That is the default position for the national health information authority. If identifiable patient information is needed, it has to be shown the person or entity making the request is fully justified in seeking that information.