Clare Daly (Dublin North, United Left) | Oireachtas source

My understanding is that the Government will be more short-lived than the Minister thinks. Time is running out for him. I am cognisant of the fact that we have heard similar promises before. I do not blame the Minister personally for this, but every year we are told that the heads of the Bill are near to fruition. I am concerned that departmental officials complement many aspects of the Seanad Bill. The Senators brought forward this legislation off their own bat without the resources of the Department, which leads one to ask why there was such a delay in the first place. I am concerned when the Minister talks about what is possible because the biggest impediment has been an over-conservative interpretation of the I O’T v. B ruling on the right to privacy which the Government and others have interpreted as closing the door on people’s right to information when the Supreme Court, in fact, stated the right should be balanced with people’s right to an identity. The Bill provides the balance to do this and would bring Ireland into compliance with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and the recognition in the European Court of Human Rights and the Constitution of a person’s identity. It would be more expedient to support the Bill considering that it has been drafted to get us to the next stage.

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