Politicians' expenses should be listed routinely in an official journal, according to the Minister of State responsible for the Freedom of Information Act, Mr Martin Cullen.
Mr Cullen was speaking to The Irish Times about the operation of the Act. He said it had generally been embraced by the public service and had brought about a culture change there.
Asked about the resistance of politicians recently to the release of information about their expenses, Mr Cullen said: "They were using the mechanisms under the Act to test the water. Now there is no confusion about the parameters. The system won. It showed that what we decided to do in the law worked.
"There are no lifeboats for anyone. It will increase confidence in the system. People will think that if the politicians can't hide they will have more chance of getting information."
Asked if he thought this experience would have an impact on the behaviour of politicians, he said: "They may be more conscious of the accountability of their actions. People should be aware that the FoI applies, and publish information now rather than wait for a crisis to emerge. For example, there could be a journal which lists the expenses of politicians."
He said if that happened it should mean the media would publish the full information made available, including the context and reasons for the expenses. He stressed that because of the commitment of senior civil servants, the culture change had already come about in the public service.
"Things are now routinely published which were not made public before, like the Charter on Public Procurement. The report of the Tax Strategy Group is now on the website of the Department of Finance."
Almost 10,000 requests for information have been made since the Act came into operation 18 months ago. Some of these relate to health boards, which only came under the Act a year ago. About 15 per cent of requests come from journalists.
The majority of requests for information - 53 per cent - come from private individuals seeking information about themselves held by official bodies. If one adds to this the 15 per cent which come from the staff of the public service concerning their personnel records, more than two-thirds of all requests for information are from individuals seeking information on themselves.
The remainder of the information requests are from business (12 per cent); journalists (15 per cent), and politicians (5 per cent). Opposition politicians in particular seek the briefing documents on which ministerial statements are based, thus ensuring they are well briefed on the subject under discussion in the Dail or elsewhere.
The Civil Service received by far the greatest proportion of requests - almost 7,000. Local authorities were next, followed by the health boards.
The Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform received the largest number of requests, with 718 up to the end of July. Other Government departments with a high number are the Revenue Commissioners, Education, Finance, and Enterprise, Trade and Employment. However, 45 per cent of requests to the latter (190) came from one individual.
In its next phase, the Act will be extended to the voluntary health sector, including hospitals and institutions providing services to the mentally handicapped. Other organisations, including the Arts Council, FAS, the Independent Radio and Television Commission and RTE, will also come under its ambit within the coming months.