Tom Hayes (Tipperary South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Unauthorised disclosure of confidential information by members of committees should be discouraged and the penalty for so doing should be dissuasive. I must emphasise in this context the word "confidential". It is not intended to preclude general comment or discussion on everyday issues relating to a committee. We are talking, for example, about unauthorised disclosures of ongoing and sensitive negotiation positions at national or EU level which could be damaging to the State's official position. That is in essence the point Senator Ó Domhnaill has made.

I accept that a balance must be struck between the need for confidentiality in certain circumstances and the need to encourage and not deter people whose participation and contribution to such committees would be of great value. In that context, I took on board the concerns expressed in a number of quarters that the possibility of severe penalties would deter people from becoming members of such committees and introduced an amendment to reduce the penalty to €500 from the original €5,000. That issue was of major concern to many people.

I also reviewed the issue of disclosure of information in the public interest in consultation with my legal advisors. My advice is that the words "or as provided by law" included in the existing text of section 9(1) already accommodates the public interest in that it encompasses the range of legislative provisions dealing with release of information. The important point to note in this context is that confidential information may only be released by the Minister or as provided by law. This encompasses personal information which cannot generally be released in the public interest because personal rights are enshrined in the Constitution, the European Convention on Human Rights and the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union. On the other hand, the release of commercially sensitive information is covered in the Freedom of Information Acts. All the aforementioned legislative acts are included in the subsection by reference to "provided by law". In the circumstances, I do not propose to accept the amendment.