James Bannon (Fine Gael)

Crucially, requests to see correspondence between Ministers will be refused in future if Departments rule that publication would affect the "free exchange of views between Ministers." This would have prevented publication last year of the Minister for Finance, Deputy McCreevy's complaints to the Minister for Health and Children, Deputy Martin, about the latter's spending. Under the newly envisaged control of information we would not have heard last weekend of the Minister for Health and Children's lavish spending to the tune of €500,000 on the refurbishment of his office at Hawkins House, at a time when it is proposed that the Department will be moved out of that building.