Sorca Clarke (Longford-Westmeath, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for his contributions. I think we have found some groundwork on which we can make progress with this. I am not going to lie to the House and say I am not disappointed that the Minister of State is not going to withdraw his amendment. It is a lost opportunity. The Minister of State mentioned that the Minister had committed to undertaking a review within a time which falls well short of the nine months for which the Government is seeking to amend our legislation.

That said, there is common ground here on which we can build. I welcome the Minister of State' openness to engaging with Deputy Mairéad Farrell and me on this issue. There is a fundamental principle in the Freedom of Information Act 2014 which is best served in the public interest and that is where the focus must be. I refer to ensuring that the information which is available is freely available and freely accessible through an FOI Act which functions in the best interests of the public.

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