Brendan Ryan (Labour)

The new subsection (2) will state:

The Health Service Executive may, for statistical purposes, retain and process information given to it under subsection (1) provided that such information is not publicly disclosed except in the form of a summary so compiled as to prevent particulars relating to the identity of any home care provider, or of any person for whom any home care provider provides home care services, being ascertained from it.

Subsection (1) referred to states:

A home care provider shall give notice in writing to the Health Service Executive, as soon as it is practicable for the provider to do so, of—

(a) the name and address of the provider,

(b) the name and address of each person to whom the provider provides home care services,

(c) the nature of such services so provided, and

(d) particulars of any change to information previously given by the provider to the Executive under any paragraph (including this paragraph) of this subsection.

Either the information can be easily found elsewhere, in which case this provision is meaningless, or the provision means the public will not know who are the companies providing home care services. I believe it slipped in by accident. I have considerable experience of finding accidental errors in legislation. It is a fact of life and is not a comment on anybody. It is the way life is.

Why should the public not know who the HSE contracts to provide this intimate service? These companies will provide services in people's homes on a one-to-one basis. People should know who are the service providers.