Brian Hayes (Fine Gael)

I will leave the subversion issue for the Leader as she is well able to deal with it.

I ask the Leader to obtain answers to two questions from her colleagues in Government. The Official Secrets Act 1963 has, to a greater extent than any other Act, embraced the culture of secrecy in our public administration. In 1997 a select committee of the other House, chaired by a former colleague of mine, Deputy Charles Flanagan, proposed the repeal of the Official Secrets Act. Does the Government have proposals to act on the committee's recommendation? The repeal of the Official Secrets Act would constitute the single most important step towards smashing secrecy in our public administration and embracing the principle of accountability that we are all trying to promote in public life?

It is my understanding that the budget of the Office of the Ombudsman has been slashed by some 15% to 20% this year, a move which does little to encourage the notion that members of the public can have issues arising from their dealings with the public administration investigated through that office. This is a retrograde step which needs to be highlighted because the Act establishing the Office of the Ombudsman has done more to expose bureaucracy and the culture of secrecy in our public administration than any other Act passed by the Oireachtas.