Written answers
Tuesday, 11 October 2022
Department of Finance
Legislative Measures
Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Social Democrats)
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272. To ask the Minister for Finance the timeline that he is working towards for amending the relevant legislation to incorporate the right to be forgotten for people living beyond cancer, following the recently adopted European Parliament resolution calling for European Union member states to guarantee this right by 2025; the steps that his Department has taken to prepare for this legislative change; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49847/22]
Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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I note that the Deputy’s question refers to the “Right to be Forgotten” in the context of individuals who have recovered from cancer seeking to access certain financial services. I am aware of this issue, which is a sensitive one for many in our community.
As the Deputy is aware, this important policy matter is being considered at EU level. The European Commission’s 'Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan' includes an initiative for 2021-2023 to “Address fair access for cancer survivors to financial services (including insurance), viaa code of conduct and a reflection on long-term solutions”. Earlier this year, the Commission published an exploratory study on ‘Access to financial products for persons with a history of cancer in EU Member States’ as a first step in this process.
Following the publication of this study, the Commission has stated that by the end of 2022, it will launch further work that will gather more evidence and insights on the issue. This will serve as a basis to design a first draft of the EU Code of Conduct, which the Commission plans to discuss with stakeholders, as part of implementing 'Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan'.
It is understood that the EU Code of Conduct is planned to be adopted by early 2024. My Department will continue to monitor any outputs from this work, which represents an important contribution to this issue, and will continue to engage with Insurance Ireland and other stakeholders regarding relevant developments in this area.
Finally, it may interest the Deputy to know that, as regards existing domestic legislation, Section 126 of the Consumer Credit Act 1995permits lenders here to provide a mortgage in situations where a borrower may be unable to obtain life insurance, or where such insurance is unduly costly compared to that payable by borrowers generally. This is important to note in the context of securing a home loan for individuals who may experience difficulties acquiring mortgage protection insurance, including people who have recovered from cancer.
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