The Seanad has deferred its consideration of the final stages of the Freedom of Information (FoI) Bill until next Thursday.
The Bill was due to pass all stages in the Seanad today ahead of a Dáil debate on the proposed changes to the FoI Act which is expected to begin in a fortnight.
The Oireachtas Joint Committee of Finance and Public Service met this morning to hear submissions from the group of five senior civil servants whose review of the Act was behind many of the changes now sought by the Government.
The Secretary to the Government, Mr Dermot McCarthy, has denied officials who drew up the report on the workings of the Act did so to protect civil service advice to Ministers from public scrutiny.
He told the committee they had advised that a five-year confidentiality rule be extended, as Ministers remained politically active beyond a five-year framework.
The Committee will also hear from the Information Commissioner, Mr Kevin Murphy, today. He has been critical of some of the proposals before the Dáil and Seanad.Mr Murphy has suggested that the Government's plans could result in costly litigation.
They could also lead to an "inappropriate relationship" between Ministers and secretaries-general of government departments as well as refusals to reveal information currently released under the Act, he said.
His comments drew an angry response from the Minister for Justice who accused him of overstepping his powers.
Mr McDowell claimed that Mr Murphy's commentary "perhaps exemplifies one of the problems of the Act: it has been pushed very, very vigorously".