Vol. 443 No. 6
24 Mr. J. Bruton asked the Minister for Finance, in view of the stated commitment to open Government and his reply to Parliamentary Question No. 60 on 12 April 1994, the plans, if any, there are, to provide Freefone telephone access to the Department of the Taoiseach and the Government Information Service for members of the public; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
As I already indicated, the Freefone facility is generally confined to Departments or Offices having considerable direct dealings with members of the public in relation to schemes which they administer.
While no part of the Department of the Taoiseach currently falls into this category, the Government Information Service deals on an ongoing basis with queries from the media and others. My Department is at present carrying out a study of the Government Information Service and the appropriateness of a Freefone service to its operations will be examined having regard to the considerations of cost-effectiveness which I previously mentioned.
