Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Labour)
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Question 72: To ask the Minister for Finance his views on the speech of the Information Commissioner Ms Emily O'Reilly to the Institute of Public Administration on 20 June 2006 in particular on her statement that public bodies are avoiding contact with the public rather than making customer services more transparent and that the growing number of agencies, advisory bodies and taskforces outside the remit of the Office of the Information Commissioner are threatening the transparency of the decision making process; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24956/06]

Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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In the speech referred to by the Deputy, I understand the Ombudsman and Information Commissioner, Ms Emily O'Reilly, encouraged public bodies, when devising and implementing customer service initiatives, not to be too much in thrall to technology and to endeavour to ensure that, where necessary, members of the public can continue to make direct contact with members of staff.

I have no particular difficulty with this view. The modernisation programme over the past decade and more has had quality customer service as a core objective. A range of customer service initiatives have been introduced by public bodies in recent years which have helped to transform the way in which their services are delivered. Many of these initiatives have been assisted by improvements in Information and Communications Technologies. When devising and implementing such initiatives, I would recognise the need for public bodies to bear in mind the requirements of all clients, including those who may not have a high level of computer literacy. In fairness to public bodies, I think this requirement is recognised though I would accept that there may be instances, particularly at busy periods, where some people may have felt frustrated when trying to speak directly to a member of staff.

I would not accept that there are a growing number of bodies outside the remit of the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act. FOI has been extended gradually since its introduction over eight years ago. I made regulations recently that extended the Act to more than 100 bodies. This brings to over 500 the number of bodies covered by FOI, compared to 67 when the Act was introduced in April 1998. In February this year, I announced the introduction of a Code of Practice on Freedom of Information for the six North/South Implementation Bodies and Tourism Ireland Limited. These initiatives demonstrate the Government's commitment to deepening and widening the application of freedom of information in the public sector.