Charlie McCreevy (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)

I understand that this amendment is related to the Information Commissioner's comments on pages 76 and 77. Accepting this amendment would provide a right under FOI to have a record containing personal information amended where release of the record concerned is provided for outside the scope of the Act. The FOI Act does not apply to records that are already available through other means. This principle is enshrined in section 46(2) which provides that the Act does not apply to records that are already available through other channels. Such records can be made available on an administrative or statutory basis, completely separate from the FOI Act. This amendment has the potential to interfere with and complicate the mechanisms that exist for the supply and, where relevant, the amendment of personal information outside the terms of the FOI Act.

The Land Registry has raised concerns over this proposal. It holds 3 million public records, particularly folios and maps, to which section 46(2) applies. It operates under two pieces of legislation – the Registration of Title Act 1964 and Land Registration Rules 1972, both of which provide a mechanism for the correction of errors and consequent amendment of the register on production of the necessary proofs.