Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 76:

In page 64, to delete lines 25 to 31 and substitute the following:

“(g) a record relating to an audit, inspection, investigation or examination carried out by the Comptroller and Auditor General under the Comptroller and Auditor General Acts 1923 to 1993, the Exchequer and Audit Department Acts 1866 and 1921, or any other enactment, other than—”.

Amendments Nos. 76 to 78, inclusive, and parts of Amendments Nos. 84 and 88, relate to an anomaly relating to how the records of the Information Commissioner are treated under FOI. FOI does not apply to records relating to reviews conducted by the Information Commissioner under the FOI Acts. Only the records relating to the general administration of the Office of the Information Commissioner are subject to FOI. There is no similar exemption in regard to reviews conducted by the Information Commissioner under the European Communities (Access to Information on the Environment) Regulations 2007. The Information Commissioner sought that this anomaly be addressed. In fact, it was the previous Information Commissioner, Ms O'Reilly, who asked that this amendment be submitted. This is being effected by providing an exemption to the Office of the Information Commissioner in respect of the records it holds in regard to both types of review.

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