The release of Cabinet records after five years would have had a serious impact on the working of Government, a report behind new restrictions in the Freedom of Information regime said.
The report was compiled by a group of senior Government officials, who called for an extension of the period of protection to 10 years.
This change is likely to take effect before the fifth anniversary of the passing of the Act in April, when Cabinet records were to be released for the first time on a rolling basis.
Other restrictions include a new exemption on communications between Ministers and on the papers of working groups directly supporting Cabinet.
Records linked to international relations will also be exempt.
The Government has agreed to levy an up-front fee for requests for information under the Act. This fee, to be set by the Minister for Finance, has not yet been determined. It will not apply to individuals requesting personal records.
The review group said there were "strong operational arguments" to levy fees, stating that an up-front fee was the "only workable arrangement".
The 21-page report was written by a committee comprising the secretaries-general of five Government Departments. The committee was appointed last June by the Government.
A Department of Finance spokesman said this report was the principal document guiding the Government decision.
But he said the Government also made use of a report by the Information Commissioner, Mr Kevin Murphy, and of a report in 1999 by the Civil Service Users' Network.
For example, new exemptions on records related to tribunals and parliamentary questions were not cited in the review group's report.
Communications between Ministers will be subject to mandatory exemption. The Bill also provides mandatory exemption for records held by public bodies related to the work of a tribunal or inquiry.
In addition, records which "could prejudice" the effectiveness of a test, examination, investigation, inquiry or audit will also be exempt.
The Bill allows a body to refuse access to information where the request is in a pattern of "linked unreasonable requests" or where the person making the request has previously failed to pay a fee or deposit.
A right of appeal to the Supreme Court arising from a decision of the High Court on a point of law will also be established. "This right would extend to any party affected by a review undertaken by the High Court," said the Bill.
It also allows bodies to refuse to confirm or deny the existence of records containing personal information in certain cases.
The report by the working group said the introduction of Freedom of Information legislation had played an important role in promoting openness, transparency and accountability in Government. But it called for changes on the operation of the Act "in the public interest".
The group said the retention of the five-year limit could not give Ministers the assurance they needed to freely record their views in Government papers.
If this was the case, it said, the observations of Ministers would be confined to verbal discussions at Cabinet, which have absolute protection.
"This would seriously affect the functioning of Cabinet as the process of including ministerial views in Government memoranda allows for the reconciliation of differences and the shaping of consensus prior to an issue coming to Cabinet," the group said. "It is evident that a five-year moratorium on the release of Cabinet records is too short."
The group said a new exemption on the papers of expert working groups set up to advise the Cabinet should be used "only sparingly". According to the Bill, the restriction would apply to working groups certified by the secretary general of the relevant Department "as having been established for direct support of Government deliberations".
