Vol. 562 No. 1
261 Mr. Kenny asked the Minister for Finance the terms of reference and composition of the high level group which has made recommendations on the operation of the Freedom of Information Act 1997; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5514/03]
In July 2001, the Information Commissioner, in his report on compliance by public bodies, addressed in some detail the operation of the Freedom of Information Act in relation to a number of common exemptions, including meetings of the Government – section 19 – and deliberations of public bodies – section 20. Having regard to this, to the fact that Government records would fall due for release for the first time in April 2003 and to issues which had arisen from time to time in relation to other exemptions under the Act, the Government decided to set up a high level group, chaired by the Department of the Taoiseach, to review the operation of the Freedom of Information Act in the light of experience gained in the four years since it came into operation.
The group was asked to consider issues in relation to how exemptions provided for in the Act have been applied; the extent to which the public interest has been served in practice by the operation and provisions of the Act and the appropriate balance between promoting transparency in the decision-making process and preserving the effectiveness of that process. The group comprised the Secretary General to the Government, the Secretaries General of the Departments of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Foreign Affairs, Transport and Finance.
