Joe Costello (Dublin Central, Labour)

I appreciate the amendment. It is worthwhile to highlight that the legislation is outside the scope of the FOI Act but it may come under it. Could the Parliamentary Counsel's office consider rephrasing this provision in legislation so every Bill presented to the House would be presumed to come within the remit of the FOI Act, unless specifically excluded? This would be proactive, given that is why the legislation was introduced. However, each Bill must be examined separately now and sometime in future it may be included under the Act's remit. In the meantime, no opportunity is afforded to people to avail of the Act. Will the Parliamentary Counsel's office consider changing the mechanism it uses?

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