Seanad debates
Tuesday, 11 March 2003
Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill 2003: Committee Stage.
I will provide an example in respect of information given in confidence. If a person makes a representation to the Department of Finance seeking a particular measure in the Finance Bill or in the budget, it would be normal practice for the Department to disclose that information, regardless of whether it was given to it in confidence. That would be good practice and I suspect it is the normal practice in a Department. However, it could be argued by the individual who made the representation that he or she never intended that it would be known to the public and, in many cases, this would not be the case. The deciding officer has discretion to allow that information enter the public arena in the public interest and, in most instances, we would all agree that it is in the public interest.
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