Mary Henry (Independent)

I wish I had thought of making a freedom of information request to find out what it costs to run the Office of the Information Commissioner because we are getting very good value no matter what the cost. The amount of work that has gone into this report is incredible but we are to ignore it on Committee Stage.

I am worried that the Taoiseach does not understand what is in the Bill because he said in the other House that it will make no difference to individuals. The commissioner's report makes clear that changing the wording from "relate" to "contain" will make a huge difference to the amount of information an individual can obtain under the Freedom of Information Act. It is not just about collective responsibility at Cabinet level, as we have been told.

Bringing up the amendments that Senator O'Toole has tabled on Report Stage is not the same thing as bringing them up on Committee Stage.