The Taoiseach defended the amendments to the Freedom of Information Act (FoI) in response to strong criticism from the main Opposition leaders."There was no complete overhaul of this Act. It was only looked at in a very limited and small way," Mr Ahern added.
He said the changes being introduced would only affect issues which were part of the collective Cabinet responsibility process of Government, ongoing issues which were subject to the deliberative process which was not completed, areas of parliamentary questions, records relating to the tribunals, matters relating to political parties, and records concerning security, defence and international relations.
Mr Ahern said the high-level group had looked at the Act from the point of view of the deliberative process and collective Cabinet responsibility.
Under FoI, he said, every citizen had a free and complete access to every personal official record concerning them held by State agencies. "There is no change in that," he added.
The Taoiseach was sharply criticised by the Fine Gael leader, Mr Enda Kenny, and the Labour leader, for the amendments to the Bill and the absence of the Minister for Finance, Mr McCreevy, and the Minister of State for Finance, Mr Tom Parlon, in Cheltenham.
Mr Rabbitte, who also pursued the matter on the order of business, said it was proposed to ask deputies to sit until 10 p.m., "while our betters are disporting themselves in the Cotswolds".
He said the Taoiseach should summon the Minister for Finance to discharge his responsibilities in the Seanad "on the disgraceful filleting" of the Act. Mr Rabbitte said the Government was showing contempt for the Oireachtas.
"The Information Commissioner only submitted amendments after his secretary general had complained to the Department of Finance and was told to get his amendments in quickly.
"This is disgraceful treatment of this House, of the Information Commissioner, and designed to protect the Government."
Mr Kenny accused Mr Ahern of "contemptuous treatment of the Oireachtas which smacks of downright arrogance on the part of a Government which seems to have lost its way and does not care".
He said in his time in the Dáil he had seen ministers come and go, but he had never seen, or rarely seen, where a sponsoring Minister and Minister of State "see fit to leave this jurisdiction without a pair from this party when their Department sponsors a Bill through the Seanad."
Mr Kenny said that the high-level review group had not consulted with the Information Commissioner, the NUJ, the community and voluntary organisations throughout the State, the public and the Opposition parties.
"Does the Taoiseach not consider it right and proper that there should be an adequate period of reflection before considered views are taken on the review of the Act?
"Given the fact that his Government intends to ram the Act through the Seanad this week, would the Taoiseach not do the decent thing and withdraw it and give an adequate period of time so that considered views can be reflected upon from the Information Commissioner and others?"
