Vol. 502 No. 1
28 Mr. J. Bruton asked the Taoiseach if a record is kept in his Department of files transferred to his Department from other Departments, either temporarily or permanently; the number and subject matter of these files; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5913/99]
It is not the practice to keep records in my Department of files transferred to the Department, either temporarily or permanently, from other Government Departments.
Does the Taoiseach believe such a practice might be desirable?
I have raised this issue. I understand the removal of records is now covered by the National Archives Act which instructs that satisfactory and complete copies of files be retained at source. That is the practice that now dominates in the Department.
That merely refers to permanently transferred files. If files are transferred temporarily, how can the Taoiseach put himself in the position to accede to requests under the Freedom of Information legislation if he does not know where the files are?
The National Archives Act instructs that satisfactory and complete copies of files be retained at source. Only copies of files, therefore, should go from one Department to another, not the original.
Is the Taoiseach saying that if files are moved in and out of his Department, there is no practised procedure of recording where they have gone to? Is that what the Taoiseach is saying?
I presume a record is kept of the request sent at the time the file is due back.
What does the background briefing say in the reply?
The background briefing states that there has not been a formal structure except for the National Archives Act.
It is no wonder we did not know who Haughey was meeting.
Is it not a fact that at one stage the passports for investment scheme was proactively handled by the Taoiseach's Department; one of his predecessors had a hands-on involvement with the scheme. Is it not extraordinary that these files, together with others, are not in some way recorded in the Taoiseach's Department? Is there no record in the Department of the length of time these files remained there, the details on them and where the files were sent?
That is not the case.
What is the case?
We will get to that question in a few minutes.
The time allocated for questions to the Taoiseach has expired and we must move on to priority questions.
