Vol. 571 No. 1
936 Mr. Quinn asked the Minister for Health and Children the steps which have been taken by him to ensure that a professional system has been put in place for the retention of electronic records within the section of the public service for which his Department has direct and indirect responsibility, having regard to the requirements of the freedom of information legislation and the national archive legislation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20520/03]
Responsibility for record management lies with individual agencies; the health board management structure includes a director of information services. In 2003 I have provided approximately €30 million for information systems development and infrastructure. A significant proportion of this expenditure will relate to the delivery of secure record systems. The national health information strategy will also provide for improvements in record management.
The National Archives Act 1986 does not apply to any bodies under the aegis of my Department. Freedom of information legislation applies to many such bodies but its requirement is for access to records retained rather than the retention of any additional records. Such access includes access to electronic records. The freedom of information liaison group for health boards has published a policy on record retention periods. This policy is to be revised on a regular basis and my Department has provided funds for this purpose.
