Opposition to obstruct information act changes

OPPOSITION parties will begin obstructing the work of the Dáil from this week in protest over the Government’s proposed changes to the Freedom of Information Act.

Opposition whips are expected today to discuss a range of measures aimed at obstructing the passage of legislation through the Oireachtas.

Sources say the measures include a refusal to co-operate in the pairing system, which ensures there is always a proportionate number of Government and opposition TDs in the Dáil.

Other actions include a refusal to allow some decisions to be made in the Dáil without a vote, tabling excessive numbers of amendments to proposed legislation and not producing enough deputies for a parliamentary quorum.

The Labour Party, which proposed the idea of parliamentary obstruction, said the measures would continue as long as the Freedom of Information legislation was being passed through the Dáil.

“Parliamentary representation requires a level of co-operation between Government and opposition in order to function effectively. By withdrawing our co-operation we will, at a very minimum, be making life very difficult for the Government,” a Labour Party spokesman said.

Under the Government’s plan for the Freedom of Information legislation, correspondence between ministers would not be released, while plans to publish Cabinet papers from 1998 on a rolling five-year basis would be scrapped. There will also be an up-front fee for all requests, except personal ones.

The obstruction, which is expected to be supported by Fine Gael, the Greens and the Independents, will begin this week when the Freedom of Information legislation passes through the Seanad.

Fine Gael, meanwhile, will call today for the processing of the legislation to be postponed until there is proper consultation over the bill.

There were no consultations with the National Union of Journalists or the Information Commissioner, Kevin Murphy, who is the final court of appeal for those seeking information under the act.

The proposals followed a review of the legislation by five senior civil servants. They said the changes were necessary for the proper working of Government and also argued for the levying of “strong operational arguments” to levy fees for requests.

Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny has called for the five senior civil servants to be called before the Oireachtas Finance and Public Service Committee to explain their recommendations.

In a letter to other members of the opposition last week, Labour leader Pat Rabbitte said he was not opposed to an open and fair-minded review of this or any other legislation, but said the proposals appeared to have been formulated in secret.

He said: “In my view, the Government’s proposals represent a most serious attack on the fundamental principles underlying the Act, and are an attempt to substantially undermine its functioning on a day-to-day basis. Our democracy will be significantly weakened if these proposals are enacted.”