Seán Power (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)

It is not proposed to accept amendment No. 2 and when I explain Senator Ryan will accept my point. We often spend time considering the words "may" and "shall" when discussing legislation. Amendment No. 3 is more appropriate with regard to publishing or making available information. The reason for not accepting amendment No. 2 is not because we do not see the merit in the principle behind what is suggested. However, a few small differences exist between what the Senator proposes and what we propose based on advices received.

Amendment No. 3 takes on board the point raised by Senator Ryan and is similar in spirit but different in the detail to amendment No. 2. Most importantly, the reference to the non-disclosure of details collected on home care providers has been removed. It was only ever intended to protect the personal details of individual persons and not companies. This what the Bill will do if amendment No. 3 is accepted.

I strongly stress the reason behind the original amendment was to collect statistics on the provision of home care which could then be used to evaluate and make improvements to the services provided. It was never intended to establish a system whereby the HSE would collect information on home care providers but would not make it available to the public. No secrecy issue arises. The HSE provides information on home care companies working in particular localities to individuals on a regular basis. We will not in any way hinder that in this Bill.

Senators will see we will not only remove the non-disclosure clause on home care companies but we will also remove it from individuals in receipt of home care. I assure Senators this in no way means details relating to such individuals will be made public, except in statistical format. Anything else would be unacceptable and unthinkable. We will remove this clause because we received advice that to specify in the Bill such details will not be disclosed is redundant insofar as a statutory duty to protect privacy already exists.

The Data Protection Act 1988 already applies to all personal data held by the HSE. Under the Act, while the collection of such data is legitimate the HSE is obliged to protect the privacy of individuals by not disclosing the information to others and by not using it without further consent for purposes other than those stated, which in this case is for statistical purposes. In addition, the Health Act 2004 places an obligation of confidentiality on all HSE staff. Therefore, I assure Senators data on individuals in receipt of home care is already well protected in legislation.

Amendment No. 3 addresses a key concern raised by Senator Ryan, namely, that the HSE would collect the details of private home care companies but would be able to release this information only in statistical format. This amendment specifically provides that information relating to the names and addresses of companies providing private home care may be publicly disclosed by the HSE. The amendment does not oblige the HSE to publish every piece of data received as the burden of so doing is considered unnecessarily onerous. Questions also arise as to how they would be published, in what format and how often, etc. The crucial point is that the information collected can be made available to the public at any time, as is the norm with information collected by the HSE and other bodies. This provision will now give the HSE power to do that for reasons of transparency and openness.

The reference to the publication of data on home care providers relates only to legal persons. A home care provider is defined in the Bill as a natural or legal person who provides, at a charge, home care services. Where the person is a legal person, in other words a business set-up to provide home care services for profit, the Bill will now clearly provide that the HSE may publish its details. However, where the provider is a natural person, this individual may not want his or her name made public, for obvious reasons.

Most individuals providing home care services do so free of charge. Where a charge is raised, it is simply to cover expenses such as transport costs or may constitute what may be considered pocket money. This is not the same as providing home care services for business purposes and most individuals carrying out such work do not make a profit. For reasons of data protection and individual privacy, while we have provided for the public disclosure of any information collected in statistical format, the HSE now has the explicit power to publish the names and addresses of private home care providers where such providers are companies. This means the public will be able to avail of details of private companies while individuals in receipt of home care, as well as those providing home care directly and not through a company, will remain fully protected from any of their details being made public.