Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I will be as brief as I can. I am speaking to the Minister's amendment, which I accept he is withdrawing. I welcome that he is withdrawing this piece but that is as far as my welcome can go. The Minister has referred to the issue of the fees as though it were a distraction or some bogus attempt to undermine or attack what is otherwise very good legislation. Given that the Minister is withdrawing this element for redrafting, I put it to him that the reason the fees issue is so contentious and has been the subject of such long debate is that it cuts to the very heart of the commitment to freedom of information. We know, and I am sure the Minister accepts, that in 2003, when Fianna Fáil introduced this fee, freedom of information requests halved in the following year. Nobody is challenging that. It is an established matter of fact. We do not have to speculate but know that the mere fact of a fee reduces the likelihood of individuals making freedom of information requests. That is also a matter of established fact.

I want to support this legislation and was extremely pleased to read in the programme for Government the commitment to reinstate full freedom of information. That meant, for me and many others, by definition, a removal of any form of fee. Unfortunately, the Minister has chosen not to do that. I do not fully understand why although I am not going to exacerbate the situation by inviting the Minister to set out his position again. He has cited reasons related to economics, fairness and management, none of which really add up. The legislation contains significant checks and balances in terms of limiting freedom of information in the context of commercial sensitivity, vexatious or frivolous requests or where freedom of information requests impose such an administrative burden as to be disruptive. All of those checks, balances and limitations are built in and should be sufficient to address any concerns the Minister may have about the prudent management of the system.

The introduction of a fee, as the Minister is well aware, is a straight-up mechanism to depress demand and, as the NUJ might put it, to keep the light out. It is a huge mistake on the Minister's part. I do not say that to be patronising in any way because I know these are matters the Minister has considered long and hard. I do not question his commitment but believe he is making a very big mistake. The amount of revenue that might be returned to the State in respect of the fees must be balanced against the administrative burden involved in collecting those fees, particularly in the context of a civil and public service that is already under strain because of cutbacks and so on. That has not been weighed up. For me, this is a matter of principle. I am not trying to be pedantic, to give the Minister a headache or to keep us in this committee room until all hours. This is a fundamental mistake and goes against the very essence and grain of what the Minister is doing. It is a mistake to maintain fees introduced by Fianna Fáil in 2003 in a very deliberate ploy to halt the flow of information, which they succeeded in doing. We have the evidence to show that. This is a huge mistake on the Minister's part, especially if he is serious about open government, a principle which I support. If he brings forward proposals for more open government, I will support him, of that he can be sure. Not for one second, however, could I support a regime that attaches an additional charge to a citizen, journalist or anyone else for seeking out public information that rightfully belongs within the public domain. It is outrageous and I cannot understand why the Minister has come to this position. I am not inviting a long narrative on that but am genuinely surprised that it is the case.