Gilmore seeks review of 30-year rule governing State papers

LABOUR LEADER Eamon Gilmore has called for a review of the 30-year rule governing the release of State papers.

“This seems to come from a different age,’’ said Mr Gilmore. He said that in other jurisdictions, such as the UK, it had been reduced to 15 years, adding that his party colleague, Mary Upton, had produced a Private Member’s Bill proposing a similar time span in the Republic.

“In these days of freedom of information and electronic communication, the 30-year rule appears to be an anachronism,” Mr Gilmore added.

“Considering more contemporary issues, it will be 2028 before papers relating to the Good Friday Agreement will be available, and 2038 before papers relating to the Government decision to give a blanket guarantee to the banks are released. By that stage, people will be living in spaceships.”

Taoiseach Brian Cowen said it was important to point out that the Constitution provided that the confidentiality of discussions and meetings of Government should be respected in all circumstances, except where the High Court determined that disclosures should be made in the interests of the administration of justice by a court or by virtue of an over-riding public interest on foot of an application by a tribunal.

He added that the Freedom of Information Act protected, without time limits, records that contained whole or part of a statement made at a meeting of the Government, or information that revealed, or from which might be inferred, the substance of such a statement.

Mr Cowen said that the passage of 10 years since the Act became operational was simply an additional consideration that decision-makers must factor in to the equation when making their decisions.

“Legislatively, we have provided a means through which certain information can be provided.

“However, the question of whether the general principle should be revisited in total would require careful consideration,” Mr Cowen added.