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

I move amendment No. 9:

In page 10, line 35, to delete “21 April 2008” and substitute “1 January 2007”.

This concerns the date applied to an entity not considered as a public body within the meaning of the 1997 Act but which will be considered as a public body under the new legislation. The Minister indicated previously that his choice of 21 April 2008 was random, that there was no particular logic behind it. My amendment therefore proposes a retrospection period of seven calendar years. It would be important for the sake of public confidence and in the interest of open government and transparency that a period potentially relevant to accessing information on the economic crisis not be excluded on the basis of being out of time. I propose therefore that we shift the timeline back as contained in my amendment.

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