Seanad debates
Tuesday, 4 March 2003
Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill 2003: Second Stage (Resumed).
What worries me most about the Bill is how it will affect individuals. There will be a huge increase in the restrictions on individuals accessing their personal records. Individuals – this includes staff of public bodies – will, under the legislation, be allowed to have access only to records containing personal information on them. This is defined in the Bill as meaning information known only to family and close friends. However, individuals will no longer have access to legislation relating to them. This is very serious because misleading information is occasionally given out about people. If a serious accusation is made such as, perhaps, that a person is engaged in a paeodophile ring, how will that person gain access to such information relating to him or her? Families or close friends are hardly likely to know that. How can people remove wrong information from their records?
No comments