Joe O'Toole (Independent)

I accept the Minister's good offices in this matter. He raised it with me, so I know he has given it much consideration. While I do not fully agree with the Minister, the points he made are correct and I cannot argue with them. I acknowledge the fact that the name of the person can be kept confidential and we have taken the auditors out of it; they are two issues of significance. I will not push this to a vote. It is important to put it on the record and that the officials have given it consideration.

A very important part of this legislation is that it is forced to review itself after a couple of years and that this issue and how it worked under this heading would go straight into that process, so we can keep an open mind on it as we go along. It should be stress tested as we go along and if we find a weakness, it can be changed. I am happy to do that, but we should have an awareness of the importance of this aspect.

I am not sure if the Government is taking a decision on a privacy Bill. Most Cabinet members are in favour of one, although they may never have the gumption to take on the newspapers. I was reared in a house where my father always maintained that the two pieces of legislation lacking in this country were one to give transparency and one to give privacy, and that they should balance each other. That is important. I accept the Minister's argument and thank him for considering it. I ask him to give me a commitment that it will go into his records in the Department that this issue should be stress-tested over the next number of years.