Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)

As for the Freedom of Information Act in general, the programme for Government states the Government intends to restore it to what it was before 2003 when changes were made to it. While sitting across the floor in the seat now occupied by Deputy Martin, I often asked questions about how, even when cases were referred to the appeals process, the charge on them always applied, even when the appeal was allowed. This should be changed and if someone takes the opportunity or time to go through the process of appealing a freedom of information request that was turned down and if the Ombudsman and Information Commissioner states it should be allowed, the charge for so doing should be dropped. However, this is being pursued by the Minister with responsibility for public expenditure and reform. As for dealing with the administrative side of An Garda Síochána, that is the subject of discussions between the aforementioned Minister and the Minister for Justice and Equality.

The Deputy should be aware the troika is watching all the time and the Government genuinely has an extremely strict guideline for introducing legislation with far-reaching effects that are timelined. This has put enormous pressure on the resources of the Office of the Attorney General to comply with those strict conditions, which the Government intends to meet. From that perspective, the pressure to bring through all legislative items in parallel simply does not stand up. One must prioritise and, as I am sure the Deputy will appreciate, some complex legislation simply must be met in respect of the timeline. However, the Minister is pursuing those matters concerning a review of the Freedom of Information Act and the changes the Government intends to introduce, as well as regarding the administrative side of An Garda Síochána together with the Minister for Justice and Equality.

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