The Data Protection Commissioner and ethics experts have cleared a project attempting to collect anonymous DNA samples from across the State.
The resultant "biobank" will provide a valuable snapshot of the genetic make-up of the Irish.
The new biobank, organised by Trinity College Dublin, will hold a hoped-for 10,000 voluntarily contributed samples. It is one of a growing number of repositories holding genetic information here.
The Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland already holds a biobank of 5,000 samples from cardiac patients and Irish research teams studying brain development and schizophrenia are assembling others.
Sampling will be done anonymously, says Prof Dermot Kelleher of TCD's Institute for Molecular Medicine. The researchers will be unable to connect samples with the individuals who contribute them, added Prof Kelleher, who is professor of clinical medicine at TCD and a consultant at St James's Hospital.
The hospital's research ethics committee cleared the project as did the Data Protection Commissioner, he said. "All of this is above board and we are taking great lengths to separate ourselves from the individuals who contribute."
The Economic and Social Research Institute will post an initial pilot of 500 sample kits out to a list of people from the electoral register. The kits contain a swab to be wiped against the inside of the cheek to collect DNA. There is also a short questionnaire asking for age, sex, county and education.
"This is not high-tech or anything," Prof Kelleher said. "The thing is all samples will be anonymous and no names will be given."
The research is funded by the Higher Education Authority's programme for research in third- level institutions. It will provide a "baseline" for medical research, he said.
The pilot would be expanded to 5,000 test kits if the response was good, he said. "We would be very happy with a 50 per cent return. We will see what the response will be before we go to the next phase."
