Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)

There were 45 cases in 2004, but that number increased quite substantially last year and that trend is continuing. There was a period when the number of applications stabilised, but the relevant figure increased by almost 30% to 61 last year. It seems that the trend is continuing this year. The numbers decreased for a while, but they are back up again. A number of bodies have been added to the list. A few weeks ago, 137 public bodies and groups, under the aegis of a number of Departments, were brought within the scope of the freedom of information legislation. The only body under the aegis of the Department of the Taoiseach that is outside the scope of the legislation is the Law Reform Commission. All the other bodies are within the scope of the legislation.

The question of whether the LRC should be brought within the scope of the legislation is being considered. There has been a big change in this regard. The joint committee recommended that just two legislative provisions under the remit of the Department of the Taoiseach should stay outside. I refer to section 8(4) of the National Archives Act and sections 32 to 35(5) of the Statistics Act. The Information Commissioner has indicated that she agrees with the joint committee's recommendations. Other than one, they are all outside. It is under the Minister for Finance. It will take some time to see how it operates. The Deputy asked about the scope of all these bodies and groups when they come under the legislation. There has been a considerable addition to the number of bodies which are now within the freedom of information legislation.

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