The Dáil went into Committee to consider amendments from the Seanad.
Seanad amendments Nos. 1 and 2 are related and may be discussed together.
Seanad amendment No. 1:
Section 2: In page 6, between lines 31 and 32, to insert the following:
"(d) information that relates to—
(i) the provision of health services, including planning for such provision, and
(ii) the evaluation of health services,".
I thank Deputies for attending this evening and for their continued support of the Bill. The Minister, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, brought forward a small number of amendments on Committee Stage in the Seanad to strengthen a number of important provisions, the details of which I can set out briefly. Seanad amendments Nos. 1 and 2 relate to the power of the HSE under the Bill to request health information for important public interest purposes beyond treatment and care.
Seanad amendment agreed to.
Seanad amendment No. 2:
Section 2: In page 6, line 32, to delete “(b) or (c)” and substitute “(b), (c) or (d)”.
Seanad amendment agreed to.
Seanad amendment No. 3:
Section 12: In page 13, between lines 32 and 33, to insert the following:
"(6) A person who uses, or seeks to have disclosed, a personal public service number in accordance with this Act does not commit an offence under section 262(9) of the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005.".
Our health system needs a robust and proven identifier in order that health information can, effectively and reliably, be associated with the right individual. This is essential for care and treatment as well as patient safety. As part of this, the Bill aims to enhance patient safety through stronger identification processes, including best-practice use of the personal public service number and eircode to uniquely identify patients.
Seanad amendment agreed to.
Seanad amendment No. 4:
Section 17: In page 18, to delete lines 11 to 13 and substitute the following:
"(ii) the development of policy and regulatory activities in order to improve,promote and protect the health and welfare of the public, including integrated service planning, performance management and the efficient and effective use of resources in the area of health, or".
Seanad amendment No. 4 relates to the power of the HSE to use the electronic health record for specified public interest purposes. As the Minister outlined on Second Stage in the Seanad, there are a number of critical building blocks on the path to the full digitalisation of health records. One is the patient app, which now has over 157,000 users.
Seanad amendment agreed to.
Seanad amendment No. 5:
Section 21: In page 20, line 13, after “groups,” to insert “the Health Information and Quality Authority,”.
Seanad amendment agreed to.
Seanad amendments Nos. 6 and 7 are related and may be discussed together.
Seanad amendment No. 6:
Section 22: In page 21, lines 8 to 11, to delete all words from and including "—" in line 8 down to and including "(b)" in line 11.
Seanad amendment agreed to.
Seanad amendment No. 7:
Section 22: In page 21, to delete lines 17 to 19 and substitute the following:
"(b) the development of policy and regulatory activities in order to improve, promote and protect the health and welfare of the public, including integrated service planning, performance management and the efficient and effective use of resources in the area of health, or".
Seanad amendment agreed to.
This Bill, which will establish a legal duty to share information, represents a significant opportunity to move towards a more connected health service that fully embraces the potential of quality electronic health data collected in the health system every day. In so doing, it will lay the foundations for a much more innovative and efficient health service which, above all, centres on the patient.
I thank all Deputies for their engagement and for their contributions to the debate on and support in respect of this significant legislation. I look forward to its enactment.
Seanad amendments reported.
Agreement to the Seanad amendments is reported to the House. A message will now be sent to Seanad Éireann acquainting it accordingly.
Cuireadh an Dáil ar fionraí ar 7.08 p.m. agus cuireadh tús leis arís ar 7.11 p.m.
Sitting suspended at 7.08 p.m. and resumed at 7.11 p.m.