Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Wednesday, 14 Oct 1998

Vol. 495 No. 2

Written Answers. - Freedom of Information.

Jan O'Sullivan

Ceist:

91 Ms O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Finance the reason he has not provided for the extension of the Freedom of Information Act, 1997, to bodies other than those to which it currently applies; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19511/98]

Minister for Finance (Mr. McCreevy)

I would like to take this opportunity to inform the House that arrangements are being made to extend the Freedom of Information Act, 1997, to health boards and local authorities with effect from 21 October. It has also been decided to extend the Act to cover voluntary hospitals. The Minister for Health and Children is engaging in discussion with relevant interests with a view to securing an early commencement date.

As regards further extension of the Act, this will be examined on the basis of the broad policy approach adopted since the time of enactment of FOI. Simply stated, our position has been that FOI policy should initially apply at central Government level and be incrementally extended across the public service. This is currently under way. In my view, it is essential that we firmly root FOI at central and local government level before further extending it across the public service. In this way, adequate preparations can be undertaken by the public bodies concerned, appropriate support can be provided centrally, and best practices can be identified and promulgated.