The Minister for Finance, Charlie McCreevy, has told the Seanad that while Freedom of Information is important, it cannot be the determining factor in the way that Government conducts its business.
The Minister said that all organisations had the right to decide how to organise their business, and the Government was no different.
However the Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny accused the Government of being involved in a 'deliberate attempt to cover up the truth' with its proposals to amend the Freedom of Information Act.
In the Dáil this afternoon, he called on the Government to order the civil servants who drew up the report on which the amendments are based to appear before an Oireachtas Committee to discuss the proposals.
But Defence Minister Michael Smith, standing in for the Taoiseach during leaders' questions, insisted there was no cover-up, and pointed out that he was still dealing with issues such as Army deafness cases, which the Cabinet had discussed five years ago.
Labour leader, Pat Rabbitte, quoted the opinion of the Information Commissioner, Kevin Murphy, that the workings of Government were fully protected under the Freedom of Information Act.
He added that the PDs, instead of being the watchdog of the Government, had become the toothless lapdog.
Minister Smith claimed that in drafting the legislation, amendments from the Information Commissioner had been considered.
Government plans to change the Freedom of Information Act are being debated in the Upper House this afternoon and tonight.
Calls for Govt to withdraw amendment
There have calls for the Government to withdraw the amendment completely.
Under the proposed amendment, the period of protection for Cabinet papers will be extended to ten years.
It is also proposed that there will be several new restrictions placed on exactly what information people can access including communications between Ministers, as well as many Cabinet sub-committees and official working groups.
The main Opposition parties have said they are opposed to the changes, and will use every weapon at their disposal to slow its progress through the Oireachtas.
The Labour part is to propose its own alternative bill which would put back changes to the legislation by a year and require the Government to consult with interested parties first.
Labour's Finance spokesperson Joan Bruton said that the Government had not come up with a single example of legislation that had been changed, delayed or made significantly more expensive as a result of the Freedom of Information legislation. She pledged that if Labour were returned to Government, they would reverse any changes.
The National Union of Journalists has called for the Bill to be withdrawn and provision to be made for detailed public consultation.
The union has also warned that the Government's action in failing to consult interested parties undermines the credibility of the social partnership process.
To read the Bill in .pdf format, click here.
