Alice-Mary Higgins (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I recognise there is a suite of amendments here and while I do not propose to challenge them I note two strands within them. The first is insurance and banking legislation and I have some concerns about the Bill in these areas. We know, for example, that private insurance companies have been implicated in inappropriate data breaches in accessing social protection information and so on. I do not know that we have adequate safeguards and I hope the Ministers will engage if necessary to create further safeguards for some of the wide exemptions we have granted to banks and insurance companies.

Second, I note that the Residential Institutions Redress Act 2002 and the inquiry into child abuse and other important inquiries are rightly given the exemptions they need to ensure that information that is in the public interest in this area is brought forward. Does the Minister of State feel there is enough future proofing in the Bill for future similar inquiries? Those under way are properly protected in this suite of amendments but what part of the Bill allows scope for future inquiries to avoid a cumbersome legal process to ensure that appropriate data can be accessed? The public interest measure is probably the relevant one but can the Minister of State clarify that?