Trevor Sargent (Dublin North, Green Party)
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Question 52: To ask the Minister for Finance the public bodies which remain excluded from the freedom of information legislation; his plans to extend the remit of the legislation to include them; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7941/06]

Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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It has been the practice in responding to previous questions of this nature, in the interests of currency and accuracy of information, for individual Ministers to respond in relation to their own areas of responsibility. Accordingly, I will arrange for details of bodies under the aegis of other Ministers to be supplied directly to the Deputy by each Department. The public bodies under my aegis which are not covered by the FOI Act are the Central Bank and Financial Service Authority of Ireland; the Irish Financial Services Regulatory Authority; the Financial Services Ombudsman Bureau; the Financial Services Ombudsman Council; the Irish Financial Services Appeals Tribunal; the National Treasury Management Agency; the National Pensions Reserve Fund Commission; the National Development Finance Agency; the State Claims Agency; the Valuation Tribunal; the Disabled Driver Medical Board of Appeal; the Public Service Benchmarking Body; and the Review Body on Higher Remuneration in the Public Sector.

Extension of the FOI Act to the Central Bank and Financial Service Authority of Ireland, the Irish Financial Services Regulatory Authority, the Financial Services Ombudsman Bureau, the Financial Services Ombudsman Council, the Irish Financial Services Appeals Tribunal, the National Treasury Management Agency, the National Pensions Reserve Fund Commission, the National Development Finance Agency and the State Claims Agency is being considered at present.

In view of the confidential nature of the work of the Public Service Benchmarking Body and the Review Body on Higher Remuneration in the Public Sector, I do not propose to extend the Act to these bodies.

More generally, in October last year, I announced plans to extend the Freedom of Information Act to over 100 public bodies for which the necessary regulations will be brought forward shortly. FOI is being extended to the Valuation Tribunal as part of this exercise.

Extension of the Act to a number of other bodies is being considered at official level in consultation with other Departments. Pending the outcome of such consultation, I will not be making any comment in relation to the position of individual bodies.