Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Wednesday, 9 Oct 2002

Vol. 554 No. 5

Written Answers. - Freedom of Information.

Ruairí Quinn

Ceist:

172 Mr. Quinn asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the bodies in or under the aegis of her Department which have not to date been made subject to the Freedom of Information Act, 1997; if consideration has been given to making each of these bodies subject to the Act; if so, the present state of such consideration; if each of the bodies in question has been consulted in the matter; if so, the present state of such consultations; if each of the bodies will be proposed to be made subject to the Act; if so, when; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16119/02]

Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment (Ms Harney):

The bodies under the aegis of my Department which have not to date been made subject to the Freedom of Information Act are: county enterprise boards, Crafts Council of Ireland, Employment Appeals Tribunal, European Consumer Centre, InterTrade Ireland, Labour Court, Nítrigin Éireann Teo, Ireland Newfoundland Partnership, European Social Fund Financial Control Unit and Skillnets.

FOI has been extended to additional public bodies on a phased basis since it commenced in April 1998. The Government has decided that this process should continue so that all bodies appropriate for inclusion are covered by the end of 2005. The extension of FOI to the above bodies will be considered in this context. I understand that consultations at official level will be initiated in the near future by the Department of Finance with a view to setting a date, where appropriate, for their inclusion.

Question No. 173 answered with Question No. 160.