Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I think the first sentence spoken by the Deputy was correct. He said this is simple but sounds complicated. The legal structures of many bodies in receipt of funds from the State coffers mean I must deal with them in a clear legal way. I wanted to cast the blanket as widely as possible, subject to a few caveats that include commercial activities that will be dealt with in some amendments later, including amendment No. 102 relating to Ervia. It is important that we do not stymie commercial State companies in their operations. Deputy Sean Fleming mentioned Advanced Environmental Solutions, AES, which operates in a competitive market with many serious players, though I could say more about some of the companies operating in the waste management sector. I do not think an onerous new open reporting burden should be placed on State companies that is not placed on their commercial counterparts because this could give the latter access to information commercially damaging to the State companies.

I support State enterprises and I want them to be treated separately but apart from this the FOI blanket is thrown over almost everything else, except narrow areas relating to the security of the State and international relations. I think the Deputy will recognise this.

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