Mark Daly (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for coming to the House. This matter on the Commencement is something I hope we can all work towards. I ask the Minister to sign a statutory instrument that would allow the sharing of information with the Health Service Executive, HSE, of people's intention to be organ donors. As the Minister is aware, code 115 on the driver licence indicates the person owning the licence has indicated the wish to become an organ donor. At this time, unfortunately, the information is not available to the medical profession. There are currently 2.6 million driving licences held by people in the country issued by the Department. Since the code was introduced through a European directive, over 400,000 licences were issued between 2013 and 2015, and 40% of those, including learner and full licences, indicated a wish to become organ donors.

I was nominated by the Irish Kidney Association and I am well aware of the trauma that families go through when asked in a hospital setting if they would consider donating the organs of loved ones. In most cases they never had the conversation because nobody believes the awful day might arrive when they would be asked that question. It is through huge generosity on the part of a family that so many lives are transformed and saved by those willing to donate their loved one's organs. Information is very important. If families could be informed by organ donor co-ordinators or a surgeon that their loved ones indicated they would like to be organ donors when they filled out the driver licence application, it would make a huge difference to the outcome. It would make the job of the organ donor co-ordinator easier if such information could be given.

It would be quite simple for the Minister to do this and it is a two-step process. I have asked the Oireachtas Library and Research Service to look into what is required and there is no requirement for further legislation. Under the Finance Act 1993, the Minister responsible for transport has the power to make regulations relating to licensing, and the Minister could make regulations stating that the donor information on driving licences relating to organ donations could be recorded on the national vehicle and driver file. That is the first step. The second step would come when the national vehicle and driver file would allow the HSE hospitals or doctors - whoever the Minister feels would be appropriate - to access the information. Currently, the National Transport Authority, the Road Safety Authority, the Courts Service, the Health and Safety Authority and, most recently, eFlow and Applus, which operates the national car testing service, have been given access to that information. Unfortunately, the HSE and its doctors would not have access to the information held by the national vehicle and driver file.

In 2015 the Department assigned a statutory instrument that allowed for those bodies, including those operating road tolls, to access the information. I ask the Minister to simply sign a statutory instrument to allow the health service to access the information currently held by the national vehicle and driver file so as to make it easier for families to come to a decision if asked to donate the organs of loved ones.