Paschal Donohoe (Fine Gael)

The answer to all these questions, as Senator Norris indicated, is in subsection (3). The key phrase concerns whether the communication "is made in the public interest". This is the line of which we must be on the right side.

Senator Coghlan gave an excellent example of how it should be done. Regardless of whether the public interest is served in the Oireachtas or in a meeting with another politician and some of his officials, if a communication is made in the public interest rather than in the name of professional or personal gain, it is clearly in the spirit of what is mandated in the legislation. If it is not, one is fined or one goes to jail. That is exactly how it should be given how important the agency will be.