An tseachtain seo caite, d'ardaigh mé an scannal maidir le cáipéisí agus sonraí a bhailigh an Roinn Sláinte agus Feidhmeannacht na Seirbhíse Sláinte ar pháistí a bhí ag troid ar son a gcuid cearta sna cúirteanna. D'inis an Tánaiste dom nach raibh na fíricí uilig aige ag an am sin agus go raibh deis uaidh é a scrúdú agus an clár á fheiceáil. An raibh deis ag an Tánaiste seo a scrúdú ó shin? An bhfuil an cleachtadh seo ag dul ar aghaidh go fóill? Ar cuireadh na teaghlaigh ar an eolas faoi seo go fóill? Tá ceisteanna móra dlíthiúla anseo fosta agus caithfidh an Rialtas na ceisteanna sin a fhreagairt.

I raised the revelations of the whistle-blower in the Department of Health last week on Leader's Questions. This was first reported by the "RTÉ Investigates" programme last Thursday. As the Tánaiste knows, these revelations were on the gathering of information about children who have autism and about their families, who had taken the State to court to vindicate the right of their children to access services that they should have been entitled to in the first place. The Tánaiste said last Thursday that it would be inappropriate for him to comment because he did not have all of the facts in his possession at the time but he agreed that it was a serious matter and that he would watch the programme. I presume that at this point the Tánaiste has had an opportunity to establish some of the facts, that he has watched the programme and that some of the facts are known on the issue. I am sure the Tánaiste will still agree that this is a serious issue. None of the explanations offered so far by Ministers, including the Taoiseach, dilute the seriousness of this issue. The dishonesty of this practice of gathering information about children in this way is self-evident. At the very least, it is extremely unethical and there remain legal uncertainties on this practice. I welcome the fact that the Data Protection Commissioner has instigated its own statutory inquiry into this matter.

"RTÉ Investigates" is reporting this morning that the senior counsel who authored the report in the wake of the protected disclosure being made by the whistle-blower last year is saying he did not see the legal advice on whether the HSE could provide this information to the Department without the consent of the parents. If this is true, this raises a serious red flag. We know this practice of gathering information was happening until at least 2019 and the question we need an answer to is as follows. Is it still happening today? Is this practice happening as we stand here and as I speak? The Taoiseach did not answer this question yesterday and I am asking the Tánaiste for a straightforward answer to a straightforward question.

Another question the Taoiseach did not answer yesterday is as follows. Have families been informed? I understand why he dodged that question because we have learned this morning that neither families nor their legal representatives have been contacted by the Department to inform it that their personal information is being stored by the Department of Health in this way, as revealed by the "RTÉ Investigates" programme. Why has that not happened? One week on, why are families still in the dark on whether it is they who the Department has a dossier on in relation to some of this extremely sensitive and personal information? When will they be informed? It is important that the Tánaiste does not dance on the head of a pin in his response as to whether this is legal or not. Those questions will be answered in due course.

Does the Tánaiste remember when we were dealing with the CervicalCheck scandal? At the start, senior people told us there was no legal requirement at that time to disclose the information to the patients. Everybody accepts that it was the wrong thing to do to hide and deny that information and that it was unethical to do so. The same applies to this. Sensitive information on what we believe are 400 families has been stored by the Department of Health in this way and not one of those families has been told what information is stored and why.

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. Understandably, the "RTÉ Investigates" programme last week and the allegations contained within it have been distressing for many people. Parents and families will go to any length they can to protect their children's rights. Since last Thursday's broadcast, families have been wondering whether they are affected. Work is under way in the Department of Health to assess all the files and to see what contact may be needed so that families can be informed. I cannot say today when they will be informed but it will be as soon as possible, once the assessment is done.

The Department of Health, at the instigation of the Taoiseach, has set up a team to examine the facts in respect of the specific allegations made in the "RTÉ Investigates" programme and I look forward to it reporting back as soon as possible and any resulting actions being taken without delay. The team will investigate the matters further and following the broadcast, the Minister of State at the Department of Health with responsibility for disability, Deputy Rabbitte, met senior officials in her Department. I understand that 110 minutes are being set aside later in the day in the House for further discussion and debate on this matter.

The allegations, which were subject to the "RTÉ Investigates" programme on 25 March, were brought to the Department's attention last year. The Department took the matters raised seriously and commissioned an independent expert review by an external senior counsel. This review was completed in November 2020. The review found that information contained on the relevant files managed by the Department is consistent with and typical of the sort of information which arises in such litigation but I have not yet seen the report myself.

The reality is that the Minister for Health, the Minister for Education and the HSE are often named as defendants in cases taken against the State. The role of the Office of the Chief State Solicitor is to provide litigation services to Government Departments under the direction of the Attorney General, and it regularly jointly represents the State as defendants in litigation. I am assured by the Department that the legal approach has always been to settle cases on the best terms possible and on the issues and outcome of the proceedings. I reassure the House that the Department of Health and the Department of Education are also clear that regardless of any litigation, the primary duty of them, the HSE and the education system is to children and families, in order to provide the required care and supports, in line with available resources, policy and legislation.

The Tánaiste has rightly acknowledged that this is distressing for many families. The key thing they want to know is if there is a dossier on their families stored in the Department of Health containing sensitive information that they provided to therapists and counsellors on what their families were going through at difficult times? Are these dossiers still accessible to people within that Department, as was revealed in the "RTÉ Investigates" report? When will they be contacted? The Tánaiste said the Department is assessing the files. Can he confirm that every single person on whom information has been stored in this manner will be contacted and told what information is held in the Department? Can the Tánaiste confirm that this practice has stopped and that this information that was gathered is no longer accessible in the manner that it was to numerous people within the Department?

While we understand there are 400 cases in relation to children with autism, can the Tánaiste confirm that this practice, which the Department of Health believes is standard practice, also applies to families who took other cases, such as other health-related cases, against the State? Is the Department of Health also gathering information on them? Will the report that was commissioned this day last year and that has been requested by the Committee on Health be published? Does the Tánaiste have any comment on the fact that this report did not see the legal advice on the legality of asking for this information without the consent of families or parents?

Those are all valid and reasonable questions but the answers are not in the briefing I have been given from the Department of Health and I am not able to give the Deputy the answers this morning. However, the Minister will be here this afternoon and I understand that nearly two hours have been set aside later in the day so that the line Ministers can answer any relevant questions and make statements on the matter.

In the first instance health agencies always endeavour to provide appropriate services and supports to people with disabilities. However, from time to time a person or his or her representative may initiate litigation where it is felt the services or supports do not fully meet the person's needs. It is typical practice for defendants in this type of litigation to gather and maintain appropriate information in order to obtain legal advice or defend proceedings. That is necessary to defend the public interest and is standard practice in the management of litigation. Litigation of this nature is often difficult and can contain sensitive information that can be typical of these cases which may be distressing when it involves very difficult situations and vulnerable people, especially children.