Ministers away at the races for FoI debate
Finance Minister Charlie McCreevy and Junior Finance Minister Tom Parlon, missed the debate yesterday as Opposition parties hit out at plans to change the Act.
At least two other ministers are also at the races, including Agriculture Minister Joe Walsh and Sports Minister John O'Donoghue.
Labour leader Pat Rabbitte said the ministers' absence demonstrated a contempt for the Oireachtas and the public that was "almost without precedent in Irish political history".
"Fianna Fáil has now been in office for so long - 16 years with the exception of the two-and-a-half year period of the Rainbow government - that it does not even bother to disguise its contempt for the Oireachtas and for the public," he said.
Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny said the Government was ignoring interest groups as it tried to ram the legislation through the Oireachtas.
A Government spokesperson, however, said Minister McCreevy appointed a replacement minister who was more than able to deputise for him.
Taoiseach Bertie Ahern defended the changes and said the Freedom of Information Act was still one of the most liberal of its kind anywhere in the world.
As a mark of protest over the planned changes, Opposition parties have been refusing to co-operate in the pairing system, which ensures there is a proportionate number of deputies from both sides of the House in the Dáil.
Fine Gael whip Bernard Durkan TD said he had refused to grant pairs to both Mr McCreevy and Mr Parlon, and any other TDs not attending Government business.
It is understood that, in a written application, Mr Parlon sought a pairing as he was due to attend a 'meeting', while Mr McCreevy said he would be on 'personal business'.
The Information Commissioner, Kevin Murphy, yesterday warned that some of the changes could present costly legal problems unless they were changed.
He issued an 81-page commentary on how the legislation will be affected, but declined to state his personal views on the overall changes to the legislation.
"I am conscious that many commentators would like me to state my views on the proposed legislation. I do not intend to do so; it would be entirely inappropriate for me to engage in public debate on the merits or demerits of the Bill," he wrote.
The commentary, which includes around 10 pages of proposed amendments, says that finding a solution to some dilemmas posed by the legislation will "require considerable further thought".
It was also confirmed yesterday that the five civil servants whose recommendations formed the basis for the new legislation never consulted the information commissioner for his opinion.
Mr Murphy, is the chief decision maker on appeals for information sought under the Act.
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