Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I acknowledge the significant changes that have been made in this section by amendment No. 56. Obviously that was the area over which people were most exercised and concerned. In order to change behaviour there must be a way to change behaviour.

The Minister referred to the concerns that might arise regarding the additional administrative burden but that can be reduced by people taking a different approach, namely, the open data approach the Minister is trying to drive. I believe it will be helpful in effecting that cultural change and not only is the fee reduction positive but the cultural change it will drive will also be positive. While acknowledging the point made by Deputy Donnelly on the tapering between five hours and seven hours and more, it is positive that the first five hours will be free. Overall, I wish to acknowledge all these significant changes.

However, there was one point on which I wish to ask a question, which is that the new wording allows for different public bodies to set different overall ceilings. It is absolutely critical to have clarity and understanding, that some level of control will be applied in this regard and that it will be quite transparent. The Minister might revert to Members on how this will be calculated and as to what kind of control or culture will be involved in this particular aspect, because it obviously could become a significant problem.

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