I will press amendment No. 8. I will not press amendment No. 9.

I move amendment No. 9: In page 4, between lines 9 and 10, to insert the following: “(3) At the same time of deposition with the Agency, a copy of all related records shall be deposited with the Minister.”.

May I make a brief point?

I would appreciate it if the Minister would include it. Other Members have spoken on the wider issues, and I spoke about them at the beginning of this debate. Tusla's record has not been good. However, I have not received replies on the other issues I queried. I urge the Minister to give me a response to them and if he cannot, he needs to be able to deal with those issues and respond to them in the Dáil. Is there any guarantee that the documents that might be given to Tusla will be kept to the standard that is appr…

I move amendment No. 10: In page 4, line 22, after “2018” to insert “and regulations made under those Acts”.

Amendments Nos. 10 and 11 are coming at the same point. I am not sure if amendment No. 11 is necessary but I am seeking assurance from the Minister. I do not think I will need to press the amendments. It is my understanding that they may even be redundant but I want to know if that is the Minister's interpretation of the legislation because, if his interpretation aligns with mine, I do not need to press these amendments. The amendments apply to the processing of the records by the agency. Parts of the database are …

I thank the Minister. That was the intention of the amendments and I am glad to have that clarification. It is important that Tusla is also aware that this is the interpretation. The Minister has indicated genuine commitment to moving on these issues. I urge him to use the two other powers he has to address some of the concerns that will arise, aside from the major legislative change that we need. I am glad he recognises these powers and I hope he will use them. In that context, I will withdraw the amendments.

I move amendment No. 11: In page 4, line 22, to delete “enactment” and substitute “legislation”.

I will speak to the three amendments. These are some of the most important amendments of the day. Amendment No. 12 explicitly refers to "providing information about a deceased person to a brother, sister, son, daughter, nephew, niece, grandson, granddaughter, grandnephew or grandniece of the deceased person". One of the greatest sources of distress for families concerns the information about their siblings. For those who have been adopted, this might include learning whether they have siblings and having informatio…

I am disappointed. With great respect, the 2004 Act is not set in stone. We amend and change laws all the time. Of course, there is a concern if there are people whose rights are affected because we have changed a law. The Minister may speak of the rights of those who participated. However, there is sufficient measure already, even within Article 15 of the GDPR, to protect the rights of those who participated. Article 15 states: "The right to obtain a copy referred to in paragraph 3 [the right of providing a copy o…

I move amendment No. 14: In page 4, after line 36, to insert the following: " 4. The Minister may make regulations outlining the mechanisms whereby the documents deposited with him or her under this Act may be processed for the purposes of the Data Protection Regulation.".

I move amendment No. 15: In page 4, after line 36, to insert the following: " 4. Notwithstanding anything in section 41 of the Act of 2004, the Minister may make regulations outlining the mechanisms whereby the documents deposited with him or her under this Act may be processed for the purposes of the Data Protection Regulation.".

I move amendment No. 16: In page 4, after line 36, to insert the following: “Interpretation of section 39 of Act of 2004 4. Section 39 of the Act of 2004 shall not be interpreted as preventing a person from accessing documents and records of interviews in which they are the subject or statements they themselves provided to a Commission of Investigation.”. I will be very brief. I had not realised the amendment was grouped-----

I will speak very briefly on amendment No. 16, as I had not realised it was grouped previously. This amendment follows on from earlier discussions. Essentially, it reminds the Minister that section 39 of the Act of 2004, as amended by section 198 of the Data Protection Act, does not suspend Article 15 rights. They still stand and can only be curtailed as necessary and proportionate in each individual instance. Each time somebody seeks a data subject access request, the Minister must be confident that it is necessar…

Will the Minister respond?

I am only asking the Minister if he intends to discuss it.

It is about the interpretation of the section so it does not necessarily need to be part of the legislation.

I will press the amendment.

I move amendment No. 17: In page 5, line 4, to delete “Agency” and substitute “Authority”.

I move amendment No. 18: In page 5, line 4, after “Agency” to insert “and the Authority”.