Mary White (Fianna Fail)

I have worked with public servants since 1962. They are an outstanding group of people of the highest integrity. We are privileged to have such an elite group serving the country. The failure of two or three politicians to hold such standards should not be used as an excuse to enact legislation where concerns about public disclosure will paralyse meetings and decision making. Those in the public service bureaucracy who make wrong decisions will suffer if they are exposed.

I do not agree with freedom of information operating on a general level because I have seen its capacity to be destructive. I trust the civil servants and 99% of politicians in the same way as Senator Quinn and we trust one another when we do business.