Martin Mansergh (Fianna Fail)

The follow-up to questions only applies to the other House, in which Question Time occurs. The Opposition – any Deputy for that matter – can seek information from a Minister and probe for further information. When that process is complete, an FOI request can be promptly made. There may be a case that back-up replies should be automatically released. However, there is something bizarre, in parliamentary terms, in making an FOI request at the end of Question Time.

On a historical point, before FOI was introduced, during the fall of the Reynolds Government, there was a back-up reply to a question, a note on what the Attorney General did about a particular—