Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

On amendment No. 41, section 32, as drafted, is strictly limited in its application to information relating to the alleged commission of an offence under a relevant enactment or the contravention of a relevant enactment. For this reason, the Senator's proposed amendment is inappropriate, as it is inconsistent with the section taken as a whole. Essentially, the issue here is that agencies share information where there are suspected criminal offences. However, there also is a balance to be struck in respect of confidentiality and privacy of people's dealings with individual agencies. Consequently, if no suspected offence is being pursued, there is no automatic right or expectation of sharing. This provision seeks to strike a balance in order that anyone pursuing an offence absolutely has a right to get access to this information but other than that, people have a right to expect a degree of confidentiality and privacy in their dealings. That is the balance that is being struck here.