Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Yes and I understand from where the Minister is coming on that issue. However, the amendment refers to separate and distinct information on functions and responsibilities carried out in different functional areas. I gave the example yesterday which seemed to surprise the Minister somewhat that an FOI request to do with pensions might end up going to the human resources section, the audit committee and the corporate affairs section of the same FOI body. My concern is that the amendment, as drafted, deals not only with separate and distinct requests for information but also refers specifically to requests going to different functional areas. That in itself creates a separate layer of opportunity for a second level of fees. One of the related amendments refers to the same issue and, I assume, will also have to be withdrawn.

In terms of where we go from here, the simplest thing would be for the Minister to give us sight of the revised amendment which, as he has indicated, is already being worked on. We might very well require an opportunity to amend his amendment on Report Stage. It should not simply be dropped on us with very little time to review it before the debate. I further suggest that between now and Report Stage, we have a separate session to deal specifically with this and the broader fees issue. These matters were examined in the report, but we did not have sufficient information on the cost of processing fees. Most people accept that, for many of the relevant organisations, the cost of processing the fee is greater than the fee charged. In fact, it is damaging the fiscal position of many organisations to be obliged to have an accounting system in place for a €15 fee. If the argument is being made that it is nothing to do with money at all and is really about managing demand, at least if we got down to the net issue at the committee, we might arrive at some consensus or at least come to our separate views on the matter.

I hope the Chairman and colleagues will agree to my proposal that we have a special meeting of the committee before Report Stage to discuss the fees issue. I would have liked to have seen a report at this point, from whatever source, showing the amount of fees collected in each of the public bodies that come under the FOI regime and the associated processing costs. That basic information would contribute significantly in informing our debate on the fees structure.

I do not accept the analogy the Minister made yesterday linking this issue with the prescription fees payable by holders of medical cards. It is not sound logic to argue that because people have to pay a prescription fee even though they have a medical card, there should also be a charge for FOI requests. If one accepts that people with medical cards have to make a contribution to the services they receive - I do not accept it, but I am trying to follow the logic - it follows that a fee should be payable, even where a person is making a request for personal information under the FOI system.

I do not accept the parallel to which the Minister refers. If we were to use his logic, we would be moving towards introducing higher fees. I do not believe that is what he intends. Neither do I believe that anyone would agree with an increase in the fees. Trying to link what is involved here to the cost of medical cards is not the right way to go about it. I suggest that we agree to the withdrawal of all the amendments in this group and that we revisit and discuss them at a meeting to take place before Report Stage.