Josepha Madigan (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am not sure if Senator Warfield was here when I spoke on amendment No. 7. As I said with regard to amendment No. 7, I am acting on the advice of the Attorney General's office and I cannot accept the amendment.

On amendment No. 8, it is important that Departments with relevant experience carry out the relevant functions. For example, the director would not be in a position to judge the sensitivity of documents relating to the Good Friday Agreement 20 years ago which would now fall to be released under this Bill.

I thank Senator Marie-Louise O'Donnell for tabling her amendment. It has been a long process to get this short, focused Bill to this point and I assure the Senator that I and my officials will give careful consideration to the proposals the Senator has made. They are quite complex and would need to be teased out in greater detail. An example of those details would be constitutional issues that might arise with the State acquiring documents to be transferred to the National Archives. There could be data protection and privacy issues with regard to the making available of records within the archives. While the amendments provide for the situation when the Data Protection Commissioner may certify records that should not be transferred, the default position is that relevant public authorities shall transfer records unless the Data Protection Commissioner steps in.

The issue of the right to privacy versus the right to know is something that is being considered in the context of the Adoption (Tracing and Information) Bill 2016, which is currently before the Seanad. The Minister, Deputy Zappone, has indicated she wishes to work with all parties to get this issue resolved. That process would assist in taking an overall view of the wider range of social services documentation.

The administrative burden of operating the new provisions is unknown, as are the implications for the National Archives, public bodies and many private bodies. There are also a number of issues that would need to be considered. For example, the amendments would give a role to the Taoiseach instead of the Minister, which is a misreading of the Act as it is now construed. Another issue is the role of a new archives board versus the role of the existing board. There is also conflict with existing legal provisions regarding local authority archives and the local authority archive service. However, I would like to work with Senator Marie-Louise O'Donnell going forward. Senator Higgins referred to some of the issues that Senator O'Donnell raised. Given these substantial amendments have appeared at the last moment of the legislative process, I have asked my officials, in consultation with the National Archives, to view the documentation and bodies that come within the remit of the National Archives in its entirety. This review would have regard to the progress of the adoption Bill and any principles laid down in it; the need to consult with relevant Departments and public bodies in the first instance and the wider sector thereafter; proper consideration of the intersection of an extension of the archives legislation with the obligations under the data protection legislation; as well as the organisational, logistical and resource implications of any proposed changes. I am happy to work with Senator Marie-Louise O'Donnell on that.

Senator Higgins spoke about the need to tell the personal stories. It is something with which I agree. While the National Archives and the Military Archives hold official records they also hold many personal stories, including the struggles of women to get recognition for the role they played in the struggle for independence. There has been a great opening up in Ireland over recent years and it is something I am also passionate about. The way forward is to do it in a way that works and which ensures buy-in from all who lived through personal dark times in Irish history.

That is all I have to say on the amendments.