Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)

Does the Taoiseach attribute any validity on the comments of the Information Commissioner, Ms Emily O'Reilly, and the Department of Finance in respect of freedom of information, FOI, and the structures and costs relating thereto? Ms O'Reilly stated:

If FOI is about replacing a culture of secrecy with a culture of openness in the Irish public service, I have to say that this objective is being frustrated by the continued exclusion from FOI of several key public institutions.

At a conference on FOI held in June of last year, comments made by the Information Commissioner and officials of the Department of Finance are extremely relevant to the Taoiseach's initial reply, particularly in the context of his and other Departments. On that occasion, the Information Commissioner stated that the Ryan commission's inquiry into the abuse of children in institutions might not have been required if freedom of information legislation had existed. She also inquired as follows:

What might have been the outcome if 30 years ago, FoI legislation had allowed the public to rip away the secretive bureaucratic veils that hid the industrial schools and other institutions from clear view and exposed the practices therein?

She further stated: "Other records would have revealed the complaints made and ignored, the low levels of educational attainment and other issues that took until the year 2009 to emerge into the daylight."

The Taoiseach is not responsible for the fact that freedom of information legislation did not exist 30 years ago and the Information Commissioner made that point. Given that she was appointed by the Government, the remarks made by Ms O'Reilly should carry some weight. At the conference to which I refer, a senior official from the Department of Finance made the point that FOI requests are costly to process and that the Government would be obliged to consider ways of improving the Freedom of Information Act. The same official made the point that this would include publishing information outside the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act.

What weight or validity does the Taoiseach attribute to public comments made by the Information Commissioner? What weight does he attribute to the formal advice offered by the Department of Finance to the effect that information should be provided outside the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act, particularly in view of the costs involved in processing claims? What additional information could, as suggested by the Department of Finance, be published by Departments of State in order to make the Act more relevant and more meaningful?

See this speech in context