The Freedom of Information Act of 1997 has served this democracy well. Its provisions have enabled wrongs to be righted and light to be shone into dark and unwholesome corners. The quality of decisions taken on behalf of governments and their agencies has been placed under scrutiny. But some politicians and civil servants have found the process burdensome and potentially threatening.
The Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, confirmed in the Dáil yesterday that a review of the Act had been completed recently by a group of senior civil servants. Such an exercise had been expected and was provided for in the legislation. But the fact that the Ombudsman and Information Commissioner, Mr Kevin Murphy, was not consulted about it suggests a very one-sided review, indeed. Mr Murphy has a statutory duty to oversee the functioning of the Act. He has expressed the hope that he will be consulted before the amending Bill is published.
The Taoiseach appears determined to roll back the terms of the Act which would, in certain circumstances, allow access to Cabinet memorandums after five years. Changing the disclosure timescale for Cabinet papers to five years would be wrong, he told the Dáil, while acknowledging the 30-year rule for disclosure might be too long. Mr Ahern declined to specify what other changes would be proposed in the amending Bill. And the report by the senior group will only be revealed after the legislation is published.
Mr Ahern can be a master in diversionary tactics. He knows perfectly well there is no comparison between the 30-year rule, under which all Cabinet material is released, and the five-year provision in the Freedom of Information Act. Safeguards exist within the Act to ensure that sensitive material, particularly in relation to the security of the State, Northern Ireland affairs and international relations is not released if it would cause damage to the public interest. In other areas, the legislation says that material "may" be released after five years, not that it "must" .
The National Union of Journalists has expressed its concerns to the Taoiseach and to the Tánaiste, Ms Harney, on this issue. The Irish Secretary, Mr Seamus Dooley, said union members were alarmed by reports that the Coalition Government was considering new grounds for the refusal of information, along with the introduction of higher charges for that material. It had been hoped the Government would enhance the legislation by extending its terms to An Garda Síochána, he stated, rather than move to undermine the Act.
The late Mr Justice Liam Hamilton correctly remarked that the Beef Tribunal might not have been necessary if ministers had answered questions fully in the Dáil. Anything that diminishes the public's right to know is a pernicious development. The Freedom of Information Act was introduced to serve the public interest. Is the Taoiseach trying to tell us that it has been doing this too well? The review of the "openness" Act should not be conducted in secret.