Seanad debates

Tuesday, 4 March 2003

Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill 2003: Second Stage (Resumed).

 

I would like to refer to the issue of senior civil servants who got a lot of abuse in recent days. It was my great privilege to work with senior civil servants when the Act was being drafted. In my opinion 99% of civil servants act in the public interest, and when they are asked to do something, they do so to the best of their ability and do it honestly. I consider that the review of the Act was an honest and excellent document. However, civil servants were not asked to frame the legislation, politicians and the Government framed it. This report went from the high level group to the Cabinet. Who decided to change the freedom of information legislation? Senior civil servants did not, the Government did. Following the Minister for Finance's performance in the House this evening, I would like to know who is driving this change. He did not seem to be in the least bit interested in the legislation. His speech was just floating across the horizon of this legislation. He did not go into its detail. He did not set out any great principles or philosophy behind it. He just gave us an example of one mad requester who has cost the Exchequer €100,000, which seems nothing compared to what will be spent on the Government jet. Just one frivolous requester was referred to the Information Commissioner, even though the legislation allows for frivolity and vexatious requesters to be referred to the Information Commissioner. Why was there just one? The example is so daft that one can clearly see it is vexatious. Where are all the other vexatious requests? If they were so vexatious, why were they not referred to the Information Commissioner? I would like to hear the Minister's response.

Comments

No comments

Log in or join to post a public comment.