I welcome the Minister to the House and thank him for those comments. However, it still begs the central question of why the legislation had to be rushed through at such speed. Reflecting on it since our last debate in the Seanad and watching the Dáil debates this week, it has increasingly come home to me that if the commission, as it indeed did, came to the Minister on the basis of its legal advice - which we obviously have not seen - saying it needed this legislation to be put in place, the Minister could have re…

On a point of order, the Senator is making some very serious allegations about the conduct of certain people. He is not naming anyone or saying whether they are in this House or outside it but he needs to be careful where he is going in making allegations about people "wilfully misleading" or "deliberately" seeking to mislead. That is a very dangerous sort of allegation to make, especially in such a sensitive area. Many people feel very passionately about this issue and there are many people who have been wronged i…

On a point of order-----

On a point of order, people are entitled to campaign-----

I will do so very briefly. This House is a democratically elected institution and we are public representatives. People are perfectly entitled to organise emailing campaigns. This is not the first such campaign and I am sure it will not be the last. People are perfectly entitled and, indeed, justified in so doing if they feel strongly about an issue. It is up to us as public representatives to respond to and call out the individuals who email us if we believe that what they are saying is wrong or we disagree with t…

I thank the Minister for his very considered response to comments made by many of us in respect of the first group of amendments. In particular, I thank him for his response to my comment about the need for supports for those who will be affected by the publication of the report and the organisations supporting them, and for his commitment to ensuring that enhanced supports will be made available, which is important and good to hear. I also thank him for his positive comments on the archive and the securing of acce…

This group of amendments relates to the application of data protection regulations but, as others have said, it is of genuine concern that there are reports that the Data Protection Commissioner has expressed serious reservations about the effect of the 2004 Act and stated that, as a result of its application, we will see effective sealing for 30 years. I am conscious that the word "sealing" is loaded but the reality is that this is the effect for survivors, who will not have access to their personal information. R…

I support the amendments put forward by Senator Higgins that refer to the rights of access to personal data. It is the very issue that relates to the data protection commissioner's comments as reported. I welcome that the Minister has said he will engage with the Attorney General on those comments but I take issue with the comment that this is not directly related to the Bill. I certainly agree there are wider issues around access to information, which we all accept. However, this Bill has a very direct connection …

The points have been made respectfully so far but those points were unfortunate.

I welcome the Minister of State back to the House. It was good to have him as a colleague in the Seanad previously.

Indeed. I speak for the Labour Party, but our health spokesperson, Senator Hoey, has already very eloquently expressed our serious concerns with the rushed process by which this Bill is being railroaded through this House. There will be much less than one hour for Committee and Remaining Stages, which is really inadequate time to give these serious and draconian provisions adequate and due scrutiny. There are some 45 amendments. Second Stage has not yet been concluded and the guillotine is to be imposed in one hour…

The Labour Senators support these amendments, which seem sensible to us to ensure a level of parliamentary scrutiny that is sadly lacking due to the rushed nature of this debate, as we have seen with the somewhat farcical proceedings we witnessed, as Government Senators point out flaws in this Bill. It would be amusing if it were not so serious given the powers prescribed in the legislation are draconian. We all accept the idea that we are in times demanding such draconian measures. Nonetheless, we need time for ad…

I second the amendment.

I welcome the Minister of State to the House. On behalf of the Labour Party, I wish to express my enormous sympathy to all of those affected by Covid-19. This includes the families and loved ones of the more than 1,800 people who have sadly died, and to the many who continue to suffer, who have had Covid and are still suffering with the after effects of what is being referred to as long Covid. I also express my admiration for, and solidarity with, our front-line workers. We all recognise the enormous public health …

On a point of information, I thank the Minister of State for her kind comments, but it was my colleague, Senator Moynihan, who was eloquent about the need for a social bubble. I am delighted to see it included in the paired household rule under regulation No. 7 in the new regulations.

No comment.

I second the amendment.

I welcome the Minister of State to the House. I am glad to have the opportunity to speak in support of this Bill on behalf of the Labour Senators. I was a co-sponsor of the Bill and have worked on the issues it addresses with colleagues in civil society groupings, in particular with the Irish Council for Civil Liberties. I commend Senators Ruane and Higgins on bringing it forward, and note also that it has received support from a wide range of civil society organisations and NGOs. The number is 65, I am told, inclu…

I welcome the Minister and the opportunity to debate this important Bill, albeit that we had proposed an amendment to the Order of Business to delay the taking of Report Stage today. It is most unfortunate we are taking Committee and Remaining Stages today. As expressed already on the Order of Business by Senator Sherlock on behalf of the Labour Party, and other colleagues from across the Opposition group, we are unhappy at the way in which the Bill is being rushed through both Stages today. It is unfortunate and n…

I thank the Minister for engaging on the question that I had asked about the rationale for the Bill in the context of these amendments tabled by Senator Higgins. I understand that he said, and I think the concern was expressed to the Department by the commission so it would be helpful to see even an outline of the commission's legal advice, the commission was concerned that if legislation was not passed that the database or any documents it handed to the Minister or his Department, under the 2004 Act, would then be…