Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour) | Oireachtas source

In the open review and the general review after that there were a total of about 2,400 responses received. That is an indication of the public interest in freedom of information, FOI, legislation and greater moves towards transparency. The Minister will accept that the FOI system needs to be modernised. Would he agree as well that the default position of Government Departments and agencies should be to publish online and make available to the public as much information as possible, outside of personal information? That has been the cornerstone of the campaign run by organisations like Right to Know and I would advocate that the default position should be to publish as much information as possible. As part of that review and any new legislation that might be introduced, is the Minister considering, for example, reducing or abolishing the fees for retrieval of information? The fees can act as a deterrent for citizens who are seeking to access important information.

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