Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

This is the difficulty. I have information specifically relating to my Department, but the general policy issues regarding a possible extension, revision of fees or amending legislation as a result of reports from various Oireachtas committees or from the Information Commissioner, who, in her annual report, sets out her views, are a matter for Government and the Oireachtas to decide. Recommendations, by their very nature, are not mandatory.

I am not in a position to provide information on the general wider policy issue, except to make an observation. During my time as Minister for Finance, if I am not incorrect in saying so, we made some decisions to considerably broaden the number of organisations coming under the freedom of information legislation. That was a result of a review which was brought to our attention and which provided for many of them. Over time, there has been a steady extension of the bodies to which the Freedom of Information Act applies. That happened during my tenure, as I am sure it happened during the tenure of predecessors in the office since the Freedom of Information Act was enacted.

With regard to the question of appeals investigated by the Information Commissioner, in respect of my Department since the introduction of the Freedom of Information Act in April 1998, a total of 23 requests, or less than 2%, have been investigated by the Information Commissioner. Of these, a decision not to release records was upheld in five, a decision to part release records was made in four cases, a decision to release records in full was made in three cases and the applications were withdrawn in ten cases. There is one case currently under investigation by the Information Commissioner.

In respect of the previous query on the fees issue, an appeal to the Information Commissioner is a quasi-judicial process that can require many months to complete and can entail a considerable amount of work. The cost is €75 for an internal fee and €150 for an appeal to the Information Commissioner. Those fees are a fair reflection of the nature of the appeals process and of the costs and time involved.

It is important to note that a person who appeals to the commissioner may receive a preliminary decision which gives a good indication of the likely final decision. Even at that late stage in the process, the requester can withdraw the appeal and obtain a full refund of fees. I understand that 30% of appeals made to the Office of the Information Commissioner are withdrawn in that respect.

The question of the extension of the Freedom of Information Act to public bodies is, as I stated, an ongoing process undertaken by the Department of Finance. In 2006 we saw the biggest ever extension of the Act, when it was extended to a further 137 bodies, which means there are over 520 bodies now covered by FOI compared with 67 when the Act first came into operation ten years ago. Arrangements are under way in the Department of Finance to prepare for the extension of FOI to a further group of bodies, including the Law Reform Commission, the last remaining body under the aegis of my Department to be included. I expect the Minister for Finance will have an announcement to make in this regard in due course.

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