James Bannon (Fine Gael)

I have tried to contact officials in various Departments and semi-State bodies looking for information but some are impossible to reach. I have been given a number and called that number but no-one picks up the telephone. This is a serious problem encountered not only by politicians but by business people and has become more of a problem in Departments in the past 12 months.

There is much evidence that bureaucrats now rule this country. People are frustrated at what is happening. We need a free access to information Bill and the Minister for Finance should come to the House to discuss it. We have the diluted Freedom of Information Act 1997, which requires people to pay enormous sums to access information which is outdated when it arrives because it takes officials three to six months to provide it. This matter needs to be addressed with urgency.

The people of the midlands are frustrated, sick and annoyed with the wastage on PPARS.