Sean Barrett (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 33:

In page 78, to delete lines 40 to 42, to delete page 79, and in page 80, to delete lines 1 to 9.

I compliment the Minister that Part IV, sections 28 to 42 of the Bill, lists very comprehensively the principles of exemption, including parliamentary and court proceedings, law enforcement, public safety, security, defence, intergovernmental matters, commercial confidentiality, sensitive information, personal information, financial and economic interests of the State. Is it necessary to have belt and braces? Why are a further 38 bodies exempted if they do not qualify under the principles between sections 28 to 41? How can one say that a body is exempt because a body is No. 29 on the list and therefore does not have to deal with freedom of information correspondence? The Minister's principle is that they are all in unless they qualify for exclusion under the principles of sections 28 to 41. Is it necessary to also have a list of exempt bodies?
The Education (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill has a section dealing with refusal of access to certain information and provides that the Minister may refuse access to information and the public body shall refuse access to specified information if information could be used for the compilation of further information.
The general principle of amendment No. 33 is to get rid of the opting-out list. I ask the Minister to take a look at the Education (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill which we dealt with during the week which sought to exclude information in the education sphere which is a very important provision for the rights of children in their education. I question whether a list of exempted bodies is required once the Minister has set up the principle in those sections. What device exists to stop people trying to escape from the legislation which the Minister is promoting and supporting?