Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The new freedom of information legislation is very welcome. It is a pity that the Taoiseach has decided to stick with a charge for requests. He remarked on multiple requests. Very often they are a consequence of the fact that the State charges for information, which is a great pity. When questions were asked of Irish Water, the Taoiseach made the case that it had not been fully established. Many of the parliamentary questions related to its set-up budget and costs, but time and again Deputies were deliberately frustrated and left in the dark. Of course, we had to obtain from a media outlet at least some of the information Deputies had sought. It is welcome that Irish Water is now subject to the freedom of information system. Will the Taoiseach clarify absolutely that where parliamentary questions on Irish Water are asked, they will be answered fully and that there will be no more smoke and mirrors, or games and messing? The deliberate strategy to keep information from Deputies should not happen again.

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