Information Commissioner Emily O'Reilly has expressed concern about the failure of an Oireachtas committee to set aside "party political" considerations by instead opting to vote along party lines in a recent report relating to the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act.
Referring to a decision of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance and the Public Service not to allow 36 secrecy - or non-disclosure - clauses contained in other statutes to fall within the scope of the third schedule of the FOI Act, she said yesterday it appeared that an "unstated political imperative overrode everything else".
This was despite "genuine engagement" from committee members, and apparent support for her position in favour of the move, she said.
"Commentators have suggested that a 'whip' was imposed on certain committee members . . . whatever the reality, the experience has been a very disheartening one both for my office and for myself. But wider forces were at play apparently."
Ms O'Reilly made her comments at a conference in Dublin yesterday organised by Public Affairs Ireland, where she also highlighted the "particularly pressing" need for An Garda Síochána to fall under the remit of FOI legislation. This was the case in many other countries, including former Eastern bloc states such as Albania, Georgia and the Czech Republic, as well as the UK, she said.
A recent survey had also shown that Ireland was alone out of 26 Council of Europe member states in excluding its police force from FOI.
"It may be argued that An Garda Síochána is currently undergoing major transformation and that this is not the right time to make it amenable to the Act."
"I would argue the opposite: FOI, along with the Garda Inspectorate and the Garda Ombudsman Commission, should be seen as contributing to this overall transformation process." Commenting on the committee's decision, Ms O'Reilly said she had disagreed with the relevant Minister on 36 instances where she felt a secrecy provision should come under the FOI Act.
This would allow such provisions to be released under the Act. But the final report of the committee, published in September, supported the Minister in question in each instance and failed to explain why, she said.
"In appearing before the committee, I felt that my argument was understood and, broadly speaking, accepted by it," she said. "Possibly for the first time in its history, the committee went to a vote on this issue. It then split, regrettably, along party political lines. I believe and still believe in the bona fides of that committee . . . I also believe that the majority agreed with my views on the recommendations at issue. But in the end, apparently, an unstated political imperative overrode everything else."
Seán Fleming TD (FF), chairman of the committee, yesterday denied that Government TDs on the committee had been directed to vote in a particular way. "Government TDs don't need to be told to vote for Government or Ministers' proposals," he said. "The decision was made along the normal party lines that apply in the Dáil."
Non-disclosure clauses are effectively provisions in the Acts of the Oireachtas which restrict the right of the public to access information on issues covered under FOI. Among the areas covered are Section 53 of the Education Act, 1998. This prevents the release of information that could facilitate the compilation of school league tables.
Ms O'Reilly said it was unusual for an office holder in her position to comment on an Oireachtas committee in this way.
She wanted to promote an "honest and thorough debate on an important aspect of our democracy".