Seanad debates
Tuesday, 4 March 2003
Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill 2003: Second Stage (Resumed).
There is an onus on us to find out who is responsible for driving this legislation, and I hope the Minister will tell us in his response. More important, was this legislation unofficially included in the programme for Government? We were given a commitment by the Leader of the House who, I believe, fervently believed her own answer when she told us there were no plans to begin tinkering with the Freedom of Information Act. We were told our fears were unfounded. One wonders at the speed at which this Bill has arrived and the relatively short notice given. It would lead any reasonable, thinking person to the conclusion that this was not an idea thought of one week ago or a month or two ago. One must, therefore, ask the Minister of State, who is here representing the Government, whether this legislation was unofficially included in the programme for Government.
No comments