A PROVISION in the Government's Freedom of Information Bill would for the first time give a Dail committee power to strip away much of the secrecy surrounding the workings of public bodies.
The draft text of the Bill, which has been seen by The Irish Times, would allow the Dail's Legislation and Security Committee to review the secrecy provisions in laws establishing and regulating Government Departments and State boards.
This would be done "with a view to proposing amendments or repeats" in line with the Bill's basic aim of providing members of the public with a right of access to official information.
Each Government Department would be required to report to the Legislation and Security Committee body of law relating to its operations. The committee would hear recommendations from the Departments on whether these secrecy rules should he retained, amended or repealed.
The Departments would also be required to report to the Ombudsman, who is being given the additional role of Information Commissioner with powers to oversee the operation of the new legislation. The Ombudsman would he entitled, in turn, to give his views to the committee.
The head of each Department must present the first "secrecy audit" to the Dail committee within 12 months of the Bill becoming law and once every five years after that.
Pending completion of the review of secrecy provisions by the committee, all embracing or "blanket" prohibitions on disclosure of information currently on the statute hook would be set aside.
A typical example of such a blanket prohibition occurs in the legislation establishing Bord Gais Eireann. Section 20 of the Gas Act 1976 provides that "a person shall not, without the consent of the Board, disclose any information obtained by him while performing duties as a member, officer or servant of, or an adviser or consultant to, the Board."
The principal models for the new legislation came from New Zealand, Australia and Canada. In its researches, the Office of the Tanaiste found there was a tendency for institutions to undermine freedom of information laws by invoking existing secrecy provisions or arranging for such provisions to be included in their own body of law.
The preliminary text of the Bill, as prepared by the Office of the Tanaiste, will be discussed at a meeting of the Legislation and Security Committee on Wednesday. The Government will be represented by the Minister of State at the Office of the Tanaiste, Ms Eithne Fitzgerald.
This is the first time in the history of the State that a committee in Leinster House has considered legislative proposals prior to publication rind prior to sub mission to the Parliamentary Draftsman.