Seanad debates
Wednesday, 12 March 2003
Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill 2003: Committee Stage (Resumed).
I seek the deletion of this paragraph because up to now it has proven difficult enough to get information due to the reason I have just cited – it would mean too much work for the Department involved and cut across its primary work. The Bill extends the provision. If one reads the observations of the Information Commissioner, the provision was used wrongly by Departments. This will make it far easier for a public body to refuse requests on the basis that it would cause too much interference and disruption with the work of a unit – in other words, a subsection which could be a small section in a Department or public body. Not alone will a request be disqualified on the basis that it interferes with the work of the entire public sector, but section 7 will narrow down its application to allow requests to be disqualified if they disrupt the work of a unit within a public office. This provision is wide open for abuse and should be deleted.
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