Barry Andrews (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)

The purpose of the Bill is to address the issue of the provision of information by the HSE to the Minister. It is tied to the Minister's functions under the Health Act 2004 and any other enactment, such as the Ministers and Secretaries Act. In particular, section 40C is about the Minister being able to require information from the executive free of specified legal prohibitions. In this sense, it is especially about providing a safe channel of communication for information that may on occasion be sensitive.

In essence, the Bill is about strengthening the legal base for the provision of information from the executive to the Minister for the purpose of the latter being better able to perform her functions, including political accountability to the Oireachtas. In such circumstances, it would not be appropriate for the Minister for Health and Children to be able to require information relevant to the performance of functions of other Ministers.

See this speech in context