Results 11,101-11,120 of 49,836 for speaker:Stephen Donnelly

Select Committee on Health: Human Tissue (Transplantation, Post-Mortem, Anatomical Examination and Public Display) Bill 2022: Committee Stage (21 Jun 2023)

Stephen Donnelly: I thank the Deputy. I am satisfied with the amendments we have before us today and with the proposed amendments on Report Stage. There has been much work in the background, as he will be aware, between my Department and the Department of Justice. We have coronial post mortems and hospital or non-coronial post mortems. We wanted to make sure that it was all being governed in a similar way....

Select Committee on Health: Human Tissue (Transplantation, Post-Mortem, Anatomical Examination and Public Display) Bill 2022: Committee Stage (21 Jun 2023)

Stephen Donnelly: I thank the Deputy. We are planning a comprehensive public awareness campaign for when the Bill is commenced or shortly before it, whatever the appropriate timing is, so that people know this is a fundamental change in our society with regard to all our consent. We are moving from an opt-in to an opt-out system. From a few perspectives, we have an obligation to let people know that is what...

Select Committee on Health: Human Tissue (Transplantation, Post-Mortem, Anatomical Examination and Public Display) Bill 2022: Committee Stage (21 Jun 2023)

Stephen Donnelly: Yes.

Select Committee on Health: Human Tissue (Transplantation, Post-Mortem, Anatomical Examination and Public Display) Bill 2022: Committee Stage (21 Jun 2023)

Stephen Donnelly: It will take that on.

Select Committee on Health: Human Tissue (Transplantation, Post-Mortem, Anatomical Examination and Public Display) Bill 2022: Committee Stage (21 Jun 2023)

Stephen Donnelly: I would not rule anything out in this session. I want to engage with the Irish Kidney Association. Typically, we do not need to do that. Typically, the HSE is pretty good at public awareness campaigns. Let us consider all that went on with the Covid vaccines. That is not done on a statutory basis. There are a few layers to this. The HSE will roll out the programme. The Department...

Select Committee on Health: Human Tissue (Transplantation, Post-Mortem, Anatomical Examination and Public Display) Bill 2022: Committee Stage (21 Jun 2023)

Stephen Donnelly: It is not typically something that we would put in legislation such as this. It is always up to any committee to ask the Minister to come in to get an update. We sometimes stitch progress reports into the legislation so the Minister reports to the Oireachtas on progress within three years, for example. I am more than open to those kinds of things. I think they are generally quite positive.

Select Committee on Health: Human Tissue (Transplantation, Post-Mortem, Anatomical Examination and Public Display) Bill 2022: Committee Stage (21 Jun 2023)

Stephen Donnelly: The protections are fully enshrined in legislation. The GDPR legislation is the main Act. This will all be compliant with GDPR. As the Deputy rightly refers to, as we begin to improve the HSE's digital and e-health capabilities, the where and who may change over time, but, critically, it will all be in compliance with GDPR protections.

Select Committee on Health: Human Tissue (Transplantation, Post-Mortem, Anatomical Examination and Public Display) Bill 2022: Committee Stage (21 Jun 2023)

Stephen Donnelly: Not at this point, but possibly in the future.

Select Committee on Health: Human Tissue (Transplantation, Post-Mortem, Anatomical Examination and Public Display) Bill 2022: Committee Stage (21 Jun 2023)

Stephen Donnelly: Yes, I hope we can, absolutely. There is broad support for this. It is not a political Bill. It is just a good, proper healthcare thing to do. We will try to do this as much as we can.

Select Committee on Health: Human Tissue (Transplantation, Post-Mortem, Anatomical Examination and Public Display) Bill 2022: Committee Stage (21 Jun 2023)

Stephen Donnelly: Yes, I am very open to them. Let us let the officials and the Irish Kidney Association meet up and tease the amendments out and see where they all get to.

Select Committee on Health: Human Tissue (Transplantation, Post-Mortem, Anatomical Examination and Public Display) Bill 2022: Committee Stage (21 Jun 2023)

Stephen Donnelly: I thank the Deputy. There are a few parts to his question. One is around the resources. Certainly within the HSE we need to ensure there are sufficient staff numbers available for the post-mortems themselves and then to engage with families. The staffing of coronial post-mortems is a matter for the Department of Justice but we are aligning the regulations to a great extent. In terms of...

Select Committee on Health: Human Tissue (Transplantation, Post-Mortem, Anatomical Examination and Public Display) Bill 2022: Committee Stage (21 Jun 2023)

Stephen Donnelly: On the Deputy's first question around oversight, I will ask the officials to come back to him with a detailed technical note.

Select Committee on Health: Human Tissue (Transplantation, Post-Mortem, Anatomical Examination and Public Display) Bill 2022: Committee Stage (21 Jun 2023)

Stephen Donnelly: Essentially, there are several layers to it. One is the Act itself, which sets out a lot of the requirements in terms of what must be conveyed and what consent covers. There is a layer of regulations on top of that. Then there are the hospital guidelines, hospital by hospital, and the appropriate oversight mechanisms there. For example, one question is, if you are a family member being...

Select Committee on Health: Human Tissue (Transplantation, Post-Mortem, Anatomical Examination and Public Display) Bill 2022: Committee Stage (21 Jun 2023)

Stephen Donnelly: We will get the section in the Bill that references that for the Deputy.

Select Committee on Health: Human Tissue (Transplantation, Post-Mortem, Anatomical Examination and Public Display) Bill 2022: Committee Stage (21 Jun 2023)

Stephen Donnelly: In terms of when the legislation will be enacted, my hope is we will have this tabled for Report and Final Stages in the Dáil in the autumn session, we will, it is hoped, bring it straight into the Seanad, and I will seek to commence it straight away. I hope to enact it this calendar year. On the Deputy's second question, the way the Bill will work is that it is not that anyone opts...

Select Committee on Health: Human Tissue (Transplantation, Post-Mortem, Anatomical Examination and Public Display) Bill 2022: Committee Stage (21 Jun 2023)

Stephen Donnelly: There will be a register available and there will be a full public communications campaign. At the time, people will be able to put themselves on an opt-out register and say they do not want to be organ donor.

Select Committee on Health: Human Tissue (Transplantation, Post-Mortem, Anatomical Examination and Public Display) Bill 2022: Committee Stage (21 Jun 2023)

Stephen Donnelly: I will get back to the Deputy with the exact details, but essentially, if somebody opts out, no consent is sought. It does not matter what the family thinks; the person is out. If you have not opted out, you are presumed to have opted in. In that case, there is a hierarchy of family members. If it is your partner, your husband or your wife, then they are the designated family member....

Select Committee on Health: Human Tissue (Transplantation, Post-Mortem, Anatomical Examination and Public Display) Bill 2022: Committee Stage (21 Jun 2023)

Stephen Donnelly: I think that is exactly what Deputy Burke just asked. We are just getting the detailed answer to that.

Select Committee on Health: Human Tissue (Transplantation, Post-Mortem, Anatomical Examination and Public Display) Bill 2022: Committee Stage (21 Jun 2023)

Stephen Donnelly: Yes, let us reflect on it. I have been thinking about it myself over recent days. For what it is worth, I would be worried that if we have both, it will create uncertainty. Imagine the situation the Deputy is talking about where there is a family and one person is saying "Yes" and the other person is saying "No". They might say the person did not opt in, and if they had wanted this to...