Seanad debates
Tuesday, 11 March 2003
Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill 2003: Committee Stage.
I accept what Senator Mansergh said. In the same way as the head is the Accounting Officer in other ways in this situation he or she is the accountable officer but a record should be kept somewhere of who is responsible for each area, which not be changed week after week. That is important because when the Act came into operation and requests began to be made – I ask Senator Mansergh to confirm this because he worked closely in this area – they were difficult for civil servants to deal with in terms of the amount of information that should be provided and where to look for it. There is a build up, not just of jurisprudence, as mentioned by Senator McDowell, but also of practical experience which is equally important.
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