Martin Ferris (Kerry North, Sinn Fein)
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Question 56: To ask the Minister for Health and Children if she will publish the legal advice on which is based the claim that the files for children who died in State care or when known to child care services cannot be passed to the special investigation team established by the Minister of State with responsibility for children; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [25966/10]

Barry Andrews (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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I established the Independent Review Group on Child Deaths on the 8th of March 2010. The Group is composed of Ms Norah Gibbons and Mr Geoffrey Shannon. A third independent person of international standing will be appointed to the Group when an initial examination of documentation has been completed by the two appointed members. The Group has commenced work and it is the intention that it will report within a period of six months.

The Taoiseach outlined to the House on 25 May, the nature of the legal advice to the HSE regarding the release of documentation to the Group. The advice identified concerns in relation to:

the in-camera rule which in childcare proceedings is concerned primarily with the protection of the identity and privacy of the individual child,

section 31 of the Child Care Act 1991 which imposes a prohibition, that can be lifted with the approval of the courts, on the publication or broadcasting of matters which might lead the public to identify a particular child that has been the subject of proceedings under certain parts of that Act,

data protection legislation which regulates the collection, use and disclosure of personal information relating to living identifiable individuals and categorises health information as sensitive and therefore deserving of additional protection, and

the issue of consent to the disclosure of personal and confidential information including (as appropriate) the consent of surviving relatives.

The Health (Amendment) Bill, 2010 was published on 18 June 2010 and circulated to Oireachtas members. The purpose of the Bill is to strengthen the legislative base for the provision of information by the Health Service Executive to the Minister for Health and Children so as to enhance the Minister's ability to fulfil his or her role and functions (including political accountability to the Oireachtas) and to create a "safe channel of communication" for sensitive information between the HSE and the Minister. The Health (Amendment) Bill will facilitate the work of the Independent Review Group on Child Deaths and it is hoped that it will be enacted before the summer recess.