Seanad debates

Tuesday, 4 March 2003

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

 

I have listened with interest to many of the contributions and hope the Minister of State and his colleagues are willing, at least, to consider the sentiments expressed on this side of the House. Many Members of the Opposition took part in the earlier debate on the Freedom of Information Act 1997. Senator Tuffy quoted some of what was said at the time by Opposition politicians, many of whom now sit in Government. The cry from many of them was that the legislation did not go far enough. While the Minister of State may be new to political debate in the Oireachtas, he knows how the system works. Views expressed in opposition can be reversed when a person reaches the Government benches. That is how politics always was and, perhaps, always will be. We must accept that some of those who now sit at the Cabinet table complained about the 1997 legislation not going far enough. Before they give full vent to political hypocrisy they should listen to what Opposition Senators are saying.

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