James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)

There are plans for us to communicate with and ask people for their consent, which is only right, proper, legal, ethical and moral. It is not right to collect biological information without someone's permission and it is not right to use such information for purposes other than that for which it was collected. There will be much debate about this issue into the future as the field of genetics, including molecular genetics, continues to develop. We have the spectre of insurance companies seeking a person's DNA to decide what risk he or she presents and what are chances he or she will contract different diseases. That is not something I would particularly relish because I could foresee people being almost uninsurable due to genetic information which, no matter how good it is, is not always 100% accurate. It is certainly not 100% accurate in its current rudimentary stage.

I will endeavour to communicate the benefits, as it is very important to do so. I take the opportunity to advise that becoming involved in research and being part of clinical trials confers not alone access to the latest technology and medicines but also provides for a person tremendous supervision throughout his or her treatment that would not often be provided during normal treatment, given that the constraints during trials are so tight and the protocols so comprehensive.

We will, of course, publish the report, as the Deputy has asked. I believe he is right that we should have more debates on this issue and make a full assessment of the use of retained cards. I have no doubt that, into the future, there will be even greater possibilities arising from such sources. However, as I said, we have a legal obligation under the Data Protection Acts to ensure information, particularly biological information, is used for the purposes for which it was gathered, not for any other, unless there is express consent. The House would agree with this.

See this speech in context