Jim Higgins (Fine Gael)

I will be brief because we are very restricted regarding time and other Members want to come in. Article 28 of the Constitution is clear. It is headed, The Government, and states: "The Government shall consist of not less than seven and not more than fifteen members who shall be appointed by the President in accordance with the provisions of this Constitution". That is a clear definition. There is an attempt in this legislation to introduce a much broader definition of the Government. There are committees of officials, programme managers, spin doctors and advisers. Anybody the Government wants for the purpose of its interpretation of this legislation can now be defined as "Government".

I am not the only person with that view. One only has to examine the report issued yesterday, which came into our possession yesterday afternoon, from the Information Commissioner. In the clearest possible terms he states:

The proposed amendment [in section 12 of the Bill] is designed to exempt records of a "committee of officials" set up to assist the Government directly in relation to a particular matter. This is effected by substituting for the definition of "Government" currently contained in section 19(6) a much more far-reaching and constitutionally unrecognisable definition, which is, perhaps, unnecessary to achieve the objective it appears to have been designed to achieve [as explained in the explanatory memorandum to the Bill].

On the next page of the report the Information Commissioner goes on to state: