Brian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I support this amendment. If the Minister has the report, it should be made available. There is no reason not to make it available. It is important it is made available to Members quickly also. The Government, in its last weeks or months in office, must try to move away from the current delaying system. I am surprised by the practice because when information is available in county councils, it is provided to councillors almost straight away. Over the past four and a half years, I have been surprised by the Government's system of making announcements and having launches, but Members have to wait until they get the newspapers the next day to find out what was said. I know this situation is slightly different, but where an annual report is available to the Minister, it should be available to Members and the public within ten days. There is no reason for it not to be.

If the Minister wants the public to buy into this, we cannot do it in a semi-secret way or by way of delay or procrastination. The more open we are the better. We have nothing to fear and we want the public to be involved. Perception is sometimes everything. The more open we are, the more we get people to buy into our plans because they have a clearer understanding of what needs to be done. The public appreciates that. In that spirit, I ask the Minister of State to accept amendment No. 131.

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