Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)

That is what this is for. Obviously as an elected Member, Deputy Adams has an absolute right to ask his parliamentary questions and raise issues as he does as the leader of his party. He is aware that the Constitution did not always have an explicit provision on Cabinet confidentiality. Explicit provision was inserted in 1997 following a referendum. The Seventeenth Amendment to the Constitution Bill 1997 was published by the then Government on 1 May 1997 and following the general election was restored to the Order Paper by the incoming Government on 10 September 1997 and subsequently enacted on 14 November 1997. The relevant article is 28.4.3°, which states:

The confidentiality of discussions at meetings of the Government shall be respected in all circumstances save only where the High Court determines that disclosure should be made in respect of a particular matter -

i in the interests of the administration of justice by a Court, or

ii by virtue of an overriding public interest, pursuant to an application in that behalf by a tribunal appointed by the Government or a Minister of the Government on the authority of the Houses of the Oireachtas to inquire into a matter stated by them to be of public importance.

Clearly, when I say that when I go looking for information in respect of a particular matter that I was discussing with Deputy Martin and there is no information for me to find, either it was never there in the first place or it was done verbally, but the consequences have been quite devastating.

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