Thomas Byrne (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Would Deputy Pat Rabbitte's secret diary fall under FOI legislation? From what the Minister said, I understand it would not. I am not referring to private correspondence, personal information or commercially sensitive information, which would be exempt. The concerns raised by Senator David Norris are not a problem. I am trying to address something which happened in the United Kingdom and is now happening in Ireland, that is, Ministers down to other levels in the public service are bypassing official networks in order to bypass FOI legislation. That decisions of State are not included in official networks is a problem. The forrmer Minister, Deputy Pat Rabbitte, admitted to doing this.

The freedom of information commissioner in the United Kingdom said that in certain cases the private e-mails of officials or Ministers could be sought if they related to the official business of the state and came under FOI legislation. I do not refer to somebody booking a holiday or sending a note to his or her family; rather, I am referring to information which would come under FOI legislation if it was sent on official networks. What does the Minister propose to do to stop the avoidance of FOI legislation? Is there a code of conduct on what records should be kept or whether Ministers should send e-mails via Yahoo! or Gmail if they relate to official business? If a senior union official, in the course of negotiations, sends a text message to a Minister, does it come under FOI legislation? If a letter was sent, it would; why not a text message? It is a means by which FOI legislation can be avoided. The Minister needs to draw up rules and practices governing how the system will work.