James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin and also Deputy Michael Moynihan who has nodded in assent. I also thank Deputy Dan Neville, the Leas-Cheann Comhairle agus gach duine atá anseo.

Part 5, section 26, provides for the delegation of certain functions of the Minister. This is in recognition of the day-to-day operational realities associated with assigning the identifiers and maintaining the registers. Section 26 provides that the Government may, by order, delegate to the HSE any or all of the Minister's functions under the Bill, except excluded functions. Excluded functions are the Minister's power to make regulations and entering into section 12 agreements. Section 26 makes it clear that any function delegated to the HSE continues to be vested concurrently in the Minister, and the delegation does not remove or derogate from the responsibility of the Minister to Dáil Éireann or as a member of the Government for the performance of any functions that are delegated.

Part 6 of the Bill includes section 27 which deals with the relationship between the Bill and the Data Protection Acts 1988 and 2003. Under subsection (1), a living individual's IHI will be considered personal data under the Data Protection Acts when held by the Minister, a specified person or the HSE when acting in a section 26 capacity under the Bill. Subsection (2) makes it clear that this shall not be construed to prevent a living individual's IHI held by any other person from being personal data in accordance with the Data Protection Acts. As Deputies are aware, the Data Protection Acts are concerned with the protection of the personal data of living identifiable people. Subsection (3) is, therefore, an additional safeguard under the Bill for information on the register relating to a deceased individual. It provides that sections 2(1)(d) and section 2C of the Data Protection Acts, which deal with security arrangements for personal data, will apply to the information in the IHI register in respect of a deceased individual as those sections apply to a living individual.

Part 7 deals with various matters. Under section 28, the Minister may arrange for investigations to be carried out in respect of the operation of any provisions of the Bill. Section 29 allows the Minister to enter into an agreement with another person to carry out certain activities. These would include specialist IT support services, for example. Section 30 allows the Minister to carry out measures to verify any information provided to him or her under the Bill, or to establish the efficient and effective operation of the registers. An amendment was made by the Seanad to clarify this.

Section 31 provides for data exchange agreements between the Minister and other relevant persons specifying the procedures to be followed by each party with respect to the provision of personal data between them. The Minister must consult the Data Protection Commissioner in regard to a data exchange agreement. Again, a clarifying amendment was made by the Seanad to section 31.

As an additional privacy protection, section 32 states any processing of personal data by the Minister or the HSE, if designated under section 26, shall go no further than is reasonably necessary for the performance of those functions.

Section 33 provides for the Minister's power to specify the form of documents required for the purposes of the Bill. Section 34 allows the Minister to extend the period for providing information to him or her as required under the Bill.

Sections 35 to 39, inclusive, provide for the amendment of the legislation in regard to health professionals regulatory bodies to provide for the Minister, or the HSE, if delegated this function, to make complaints to the appropriate professional regulatory body where the professional concerned has failed to comply with a provision of the Bill. For example, this would be where the practitioner fails to comply with obligations under the Bill by failing to attach the patient's IHI and his or her provider identifier to a patient record. I do not expect this to happen, but the legislation must have some way of addressing such an unusual situation.

Schedule 1 lists the authorised disclosees and Schedule 2 has specified persons. As the Child and Family Agency Act is now in force, the Seanad made an amendment on Committee Stage to include the new Child and Family Agency as a specified person in Schedule 2.

The provision of health identifiers will, of course, require investment in ICT-related infrastructure to develop and maintain the national IHI registers and the providers register, and there will be costs associated with rolling out the new system of identifiers in the health system, including the change management processes. Using the HSE to operate the identifier system will allow us to maximise the technical and other expertise and the operational infrastructure of the primary care reimbursement service, PCRS. Appropriate leveraging of the public service card technology provides further possibilities for a cost-effective solution. On this point, I thank the Minister for Social Protection and her Department for assisting in developing the proposals for an IHI.

It will be critical to have sound costings when decisions need to be made on particular elements of the implementation model. Some work that has already been done by the HSE on costs and the publication of the Bill and its passage through the Oireachtas gives the scope for engagement with the market to get accurate cost estimates. Crucially, of course, the individual project components will be subject to peer review, including costs review, prior to any sanction being issued.

Health identifiers will play an important role in enhancing patient care and safety. They will help in progressing initiatives for a modern, effective and safe health service. These are the objectives of everyone present. I commend the Bill to the House and thank the Leas-Cheann Comhairle and Members for their indulgence and patience.

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