Alice-Mary Higgins (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I do not doubt the Minister's sincerity on this, and I believe that release of information is certainly his intention. However, we have to look at legislation and imagine how someone else might interpret it. The paragraph (f) the Minister mentioned references vaccinations but it says "information on any medical treatments, procedures or vaccinations administered to him or her". There is a distinction between someone receiving a vaccine and being part of a vaccine trial. Many of the vaccines that were trialled went on to become successful vaccines that every child might benefit from but there is a difference between receiving a vaccination and being part of a vaccine trial. I do not doubt the Minister's intention as to how "vaccinations" should be interpreted. It is possible to interpret paragraph (f) to include information in respect of vaccine trials but I am concerned that it is also possible to interpret it in a way that would not include the information that that vaccination was received as part of a vaccine trial.

The Minister may not be able to accept this amendment today but when we come to the regulatory phase and putting the Bill into practice, this is the kind of thing that will need to be monitored. Perhaps greater clarity could be given through supplementary regulations or statutory instruments and so forth. At the moment, while paragraph (f) allows for the interpretation the Minister wants, and which I and everyone else expect and want, it also allows for a narrower interpretation where people would simply be informed they had been given a vaccination for a particular condition and would not be told that it was part of a trial or some of the other relevant information in respect of the trials. I accept the Minister's bona fides. I hope this provision will be interpreted in the widest possible way. If it proves not to be, I hope supplementary action will be taken through guidance to public bodies from the Minister if that is necessary. However, as I would prefer the legislation to be crystal clear, I will have to press the amendment. I am not suggesting that the Minister is seeking to cover this information up. I know he is not but I would like this definition to be there hard and fast in this legislation. I hope it will be there in the interpretation and the regulations.