Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour) | Oireachtas source

As I said, "frivolous" and "vexatious" are the terms that were in the original legislation. They have been in existence since 1997 and have not caused a difficulty. I do not think anybody here has heard of a difficulty concerning them. The Information Commissioner has given guidelines on what would constitute "frivolous" and "vexatious" requests. We will incorporate those into the guidelines we give to all information officers when we get to that point.

"Manifestly unreasonable" is a very strong term. It does not just refer to "unreasonable". Beyond that, it is not only that the request is manifestly unreasonable, but it has to be a pattern of manifestly unreasonable requests. There have not been issues concerning that terminology. When these things arise - and they are rare - there has to be some mechanism whereby requests which are demonstrably vexatious can be refused. Whether or not that refusal is correct can be objectively tested through the Information Commissioner and, if necessary, through the courts. The courts will determine these matters ultimately.