Brendan Ryan (Labour)

That is extremely important.

I refer, in particular, to Schedule 1 to the Bill. I have asked this question before but have never received an entirely satisfactory answer. Schedule 1 states "a person who discloses confidential information obtained as a result of involvement with the Society, shall be guilty of an offence". I have a problem with the definition of confidential information and always have had. Confidential information includes "information declared by the Council to be confidential" and "proposals of a commercial nature or tenders submitted to the Council". That is standard.

To go back to the composition of the council, is a representative nominated by the Health Service Executive precluded from discussing business with the HSE? This is very important. Would the first loyalty of such a person be to the profession of pharmacy or the HSE? If it is to the HSE, he or she will be in breach of the law; if it is not, what is the point of having the person concerned on the council, unless he or she has certain good qualities or understands the thinking of the HSE?

It cannot be a two-way system. One should not tell the five genuine lay people they cannot talk to anyone without being in breach of the law while those nominated as representatives of bodies can. Either something is confidential for everyone or it is not. If it is confidential for the public, it must be so for everyone, including the Minister.

People say the idea of the nominating agency not knowing what its nominee is doing is ludicrous, but it is not. If the loyalty of the individual to the profession is not written clearly, the council will not be what it should be, namely, a body looking after its profession. It would juggle the conflicting views of a Government, which may want to regulate costs, and the HSE. The council also includes a medical practitioner, whose loyalty is primarily to the council as long as it operates within the law.