Mr. William Beausang:

It is a thorny issue and one the Mahon tribunal considered and on which it made recommendations. It is central that this legislation extends significantly the material and the personal scope of disclosures that are required. An important part of our work, when discussing it with the Minister in preparing these legislative proposals, was to determine the appropriate cut-off point for connected persons. What degree of connectedness was appropriate for having a public representative or elected official make a disclosure? The Minister and the Government ultimately came to a conclusion on that matter. It is an issue which is probably quite central to the legislative approach and I am sure there will be further discussion on the Bill in the context of this committee's pre-legislative scrutiny and, indeed, once it is drafted and published.

We were always conscious, as was the Minister, of the balance to be struck between the need for reforming legislation which met the objectives of the Mahon tribunal and ensured constitutional protections of privacy were respected and producing legislation which was not an impediment to participation in public life. As the Minister would have made clear to us and as we would see it ourselves, if public representatives or officials are subject to an excessive degree of scrutiny and disclosure, people will make their own decisions as to whether it is worthwhile notwithstanding their commitment to the public interest. Perhaps Ms O'Connor will outline the definition.