Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)

Overall guidelines are set down. Liaison takes place between the information officers in each Department. In my Department the officials follow those rules. The amount of money taken in by my Department for the whole year was €525. In all cases a genuine effort is made even with historical records, which are not requested as frequently now. The figures were high early on because people were going back on many of the historical records over many years. Those requests were declining before changes were made. The Departments make an effort to deliver as comprehensively as possible the information the person seeks. That is done in a way that is as cheap as possible for the individuals. While there is a modest fee, the whole programme is designed not to put a burden on the individual seeking the information.

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