Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)

Overall that might be an interesting study for the Department of Finance to carry out. In the early years my Department received an enormous number of requests relating to historical issues. People were going back using procedures, even current ones, to find out what the procedure might have been in the past. It was obvious they would go through the system and after a few years fall out. So there was that period of historical interest and there was considerable public interest in it. The cost of €15 will not put off those seeking the information for commercial purposes. Regarding the people who were using the system — it would be wrong to say abusing it totally — to get information and were submitting enormous numbers of freedom of information requests within the law, those requests have declined. I do not know why those people were doing it, or whether they were using the information or passing it on. However, some of the people who were at this on a regular basis seem to have tired of the system. They were probably not making much use of the material.

The number of requests for personal information has not changed. The media requests have fallen off. That has been the change. The early years were about people who had waited for a long time. We had a long debate about the matter over three years and people were waiting to submit their requests. I will keep a monitor, perhaps to the end of the year, in my Department and produce a brief report to check on the matter. I would be happy to do that.

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