Pearse Doherty (Sinn Fein)

Cuirim fáilte roimh na deise labhairt sa dhíospóireacht seo agus molaim Páirtí an Lucht Oibre as an reachtaíocht seo a thabhairt chun tosaí sa Seanad. Tabharfaidh mise lán tacaíochta don reachtaíocht seo.

In 2003 Sinn Féin strongly opposed the retrograde amendment to the Freedom of Information Act 1997. There was justifiable alarm at the time regarding the dilution and undermining of an important item of legislation. Freedom of information legislation must be recognised as an important tool in combating the corruption that constitutes a serious threat to a democratic system. An open system of government and an informed electorate act as preventative measures to public officials who may be inclined to disregard the law. Claims made in 2003 that the changes introduced then were necessary because the Civil Service has becoming over-burdened with nuisance freedom of information requests were bogus. Protections were already contained in the 1997 Act whereby the authorities could refuse such requests on the basis that they were frivolous or vexatious.

Public access to information should be a basic right and not a privilege granted by the State.