The Taoiseach was extremely anxious to introduce this Bill in the Seanad himself. I could say that he was enthusiastic about the opportunity of bringing it before the House. As the Seanad will be aware, he has taken a personal interest in this matter over a long period and is delighted that the Bill has finally reached the floor of the House. However, as regards the suggestion made earlier by Senator McMahon, in the most polite fashion possible and without being critical of the Taoiseach who is ill, I think he would prefer to gain a week, fortnight, or three weeks by having the Bill introduced now rather than delay it for his presence here.
As I say, the Taoiseach is ill and, while I regret the circumstances — I share the disappointment of Members of the House that he is not present for this occasion — it is of course a privilege for me to introduce this Bill here.
This Bill is the first attempt, since the foundation of the State, to establish a structured basis for the preservation and general care of archival material. Under the Bill, primary responsibility for national archives will be vested in a new institution to be known as the National Archives. The new body will take over the existing functions of the State Paper Office and the Public Record Office and will also be given a range of functions appropriate to modern archival needs.
Archival documentation is the primary source for the study of aspects of history. Since the foundation of the State, the processes of central Government have generated a huge volume of records, and this material is being augmented every day. It consists of records in various formats, varying from traditional files to the software of computer technology. Hitherto, in the absence of national archival legislation, historians have been largely denied access to this material. This has led to the rather anomalous situation whereby the British administrative archives, some of which pertain to Irish affairs, are available for public inspection after 30 years while corresponding Irish papers are not likewise generally available. The incongruous and unsatisfactory result of this situation is that historians, especially those concerned with the study of Anglo-Irish relations and foreign policy, have been obliged to rely almost exclusively on sources outside Ireland, while of course sources existed here also.
The Bill now before the House will implement arrangements for access to those Government records which are essentially of historical significance rather than of current legal or administrative interests. Under the Bill, the records of Government Departments and offices attached to Government Departments, as well as other major offices of State, will, in future, be made available for public inspection after 30 years. Of course, there will have to be safeguards to ensure that certain sensitive records such as those relating to security or affecting individual privacy may be withheld for longer periods. The specific grounds on which records may be withheld are set out in section 8 of the Bill, which also provides for the review of the grounds for the withholding of such documents at least once every five years.
It is generally acknowledged that one of the potentially most controversial aspects of any policy for release of Government records is the arrangements that will apply to the retention of sensitive records. There may be fears, for example, that documents will be retained to avoid political controversy. However, I believe that the arrangements which have been incorporated in the Bill will remove the issue of release of specific material from the political arena. In addition to specifying the grounds on which records may be withheld, the Bill provides that the certification of records for retention will be a function of departmental officials — to be designated under regulations to be made by the Taoiseach and subject to overall control by officials of the Taoiseach's Department to provide an insurance against possible over-restrictive attitudes by individual Departments. It is intended that these functions will be exercised under regulations to be made under the legislation, only by very senior officials.
My Department have, of course, some experience in the orderly — if limited — release of Government records. This stems from the decision in 1976 by the then Taoiseach, Liam Cosgrave, to institute a policy of releasing Government minutes and supporting records more than 30 years old. This represented significant progress, but researchers interested in our political and administrative history have been largely constrained to examine Cabinet policy in isolation and have been generally precluded from seeing it reflected in the wider administrative interplay with other Departments. This limited form of public access to archival material has so far covered the period up to 1954. This is very useful but it is also very limited and anyone with any experience of Government Departments — even the limited experience I have had in two Departments — can understand how limited and how frustrating it must be for a researcher working in this area, seeking the elaboration of the documents he has, being unable to find it and being forced into the area of conjecture and speculation as to where the document should or could be very readily at hand. In the area of political commentary it might be that the area of speculation and conjecture would prove more interesting, as some of us know, than the actual facts.
A very important feature of the Bill is that it places a positive duty on Government Departments and other related agencies to preserve records which are of archival value. Some may suggest that Government Departments are notorious for hoarding records but the reality is that the volume of records produced in modern Government administration is enormous and there is ever-increasing pressure on Departments to dispose of unwanted records and documents. It must be conceded that, hitherto, little conscious thought has been given to the necessity of implementing positive archival practices to ensure against the destruction of material of potential value to historians.
This Bill sets out to remedy that deficiency. The Bill also indicates the specific, restricted circumstances in which the destruction of departmental records may be permitted — records which are no longer required in connection with the administration of a Department will have to be scrutinised by the Director of the National Archives before they are destroyed — while envisaging special provision for the destruction of routine and repetitious administrative records. I would like to assure this House and the public alike that under this procedure, which the Taoiseach initiated informally by personal directive some time ago pending enactment of this legislation, decisions concerning destruction of official records will be made with the greatest care and will adhere to a preordained process.
A new National Archives Advisory Council, in respect of the membership of which some specific provisions are made, will be established under the Bill. The council will have a major role in advising on archival matters and this will be particularly crucial in the establishment of the new archival arrangements. It would be unrealistic to expect that teething problems will not arise particularly with regard to the huge volume of records that will become available after enactment of the Bill. The advice of the council on these and related issues will be vital.
Problems may arise from the release, over a relatively short period of time, of a large volume of departmental records. Clearly, the already overstrained accommodation available to the Public Record Office and State Paper Office will be totally inadequate to deal with such an influx of material. Preliminary planning work on a purpose-built centre has commenced. It is envisaged that this will be provided on a site already in State ownership.
In the meantime, arrangements are being made between the head of the State Paper-Public Record Offices and the Office of Public Works to provide satisfactory interim space to accommodate the influx of records which will be accelerated by the enactment of this Bill.
I have every confidence that this Bill will meet the reasonable expectations of historians. We in this State are deeply indebted to past historians. Their work helped to shape national consciousness in the early years of this century. It is only appropriate that we should facilitate the work of the present generation of historians whose contribution to the understanding of our history has in recent decades been immense. I think that it is particularly apt that this Bill should have its First Reading in this House as, over many years, several distinguished historians have contributed with distinction to its work. It is perhaps worth recalling that as long ago as April 1924, Senator Mrs. Alice Stopford Green, a distinguished Irish historian of her day, urged that the State should undertake the systematic publication of manuscript materials. We are, then, to some extent now returning to the completion of unfinished business.
As a final word, in the preparation of this Bill dealing with national archives, archives all over the world have been combed and inspected with a view to producing the best possible format that we could conceive. I commend the Bill to the House.