Seanad Report: The Committee Stage of the Freedom of Information Bill was passed amid expressions of anger by Opposition members about the imposition of a guillotine on the debate.
There was a warning that the measure could be struck down on constitutional grounds because of the way it extended the definition of government in terms of information that could be with-held.
Dr Maurice Hayes (Ind), a nominee of the Taoiseach, said he had great difficulty with the section in question. Pointing out that he had supported the closure of Cabinet papers for 10 years, Dr Hayes said it would have been expected that such an extension would have been paralleled by a relaxation of the restrictions.
The problem he had was that the line had been drawn too widely in this case. He agreed that modern government had become more complex, but he believed that if this domino theory was to be developed, "you will cover anything".
Mr Joe O'Toole said it was outrageous that the deliberations of committees of officials which did not have to have Government members on them were to be exempted from disclosure requirements. Spin doctors and special advisers were being included and while these were fine people, he was not prepared to put a wall of secrecy around their activities.
Ms Kathleen O'Meara (Lab) said it was extraordinary that a Bill would be put before the Oireachtas containing a provision which an independent public servant considered to be constitutionally unrecognisable.
She said: "I was quite interested to read today in The Irish Times Frank McDonald's article in relation to the national stadium. I think that may explain why the Taoiseach is coming forward with this legislation. It is because the Freedom of Information legislation caused a situation where the public found out the potential cost, or the potential overrun, on the Taoiseach's little pet project."