Joe Costello (Dublin Central, Labour)

Irrespective of the section, I accept the Minister of State's point on confidentiality in terms of important and sensitive information relating to titles and so on, but the thrust of my amendment concerns the broader issues of transparency, accountability and freedom of information. Most people would agree that the opposite to the Minister's comments is the case. There is much less freedom of information now than before the Government entered office. Significant costs and restrictions have been placed on ordinary citizens accessing information that should be readily available.

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