Ciarán Lynch (Cork South Central, Labour) | Oireachtas source

If I may digress for a moment, the joint committee had a discussion with representatives of Anti-Deportation Ireland earlier this afternoon. At first glance, one could ask what the relevance of the Freedom of Information Act is to issues pertaining to refugees, asylum seekers and so forth. However, our discussion was very engaging and enlightening as it seems it is not possible to obtain records on deaths in accommodation centres for asylum seekers. For example, one cannot obtain figures on the number of deaths or nationality of the deceased. We have asked Anti-Deportation Ireland to revert to us with information on whether this is a result of a systems difficulty or procedural problem. It would not be acceptable if there were difficulties in either area.

The Information Commissioner referred to the Garda Síochána. Anti-Deportation Ireland made a strong recommendation regarding freedom of information provisions as they relate to offices such as the Refugee Applications Commission, Refugee Appeals Tribunal, Garda National Immigration Bureau and Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service. The Information Commissioner expressed a view on what could be described as regular Garda activity. Does she have a view on the agencies and bodies to which I referred?