Marc MacSharry (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I also support the amendment. The information is available and while it would require an amendment to the Data Protection Act to allow for the sharing of information, the fact there might be legal challenges to achieving such a system does not mean we should not have it as an objective.

To go off the point slightly, it is a suggestion that has merit when one considers the kind of backlogs for social welfare applications and people having to wait an inordinate amount of time for answers. I cannot imagine that the officials or anyone in the Civil Service would have any problem with it. In fact, it would probably make their jobs a lot more straightforward. Perhaps the Minister would embrace the spirit of the amendment and ensure that it is brought to Cabinet for consideration and report back to us on it at another stage.