Noel Coonan (Fine Gael)

The hour is late. I will get the Leader another time.

This Bill is not in the interests of the people or the civic spirit of the country which will suffer as a result. The honesty and integrity of government are critical to maintaining the faith of the people it serves. Experience has shown that this is best achieved through relative transparency and ease of access. Experience has also shown that these ideas are foreign to the Government. This explains the Bill which is before us today. The Government wants to cover things up.

Government, in all its forms, has a tremendous impact on the people. As elected representatives, we know this only too well. Every day we hear from people who are having problems with interacting with or receiving information from the Government and who need our help. These are not small problems. Government decisions control access to health care, housing, planning and social welfare and plunge agriculture into crisis. People's lives are affected in a very real way by what the Government does and how it does it. The least people deserve is to be able to learn and understand. If we were doing our jobs correctly and operating with the public interest at heart, we would have nothing to fear by helping them achieve this goal.