Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I propose to take Questions Nos. 5, 9 and 18 together.

As specified in section 43(3) of the Freedom of Information Act 2014, the Information Commissioner is fully independent in the performance of his functions, including those under section 44 of the Act. I have reviewed this area and I have no plans to amend the Act to allow for a Minister to instruct the commissioner in this regard. To do so would adversely affect the important independent role of the commissioner.

However, as Deputies may be aware, an extensive review of the operation of the freedom of information, FOI, framework fed into the development of the Freedom of Information Act 2014 which introduced a modernised, consolidated, restructured and more accessible system. The Act, alongside an FOI code of practice, seeks to bring about greater efficiency and consistency and promote best practice in the operation of FOI throughout public bodies.

Section 27 of the Freedom of Information Act 2014 relates to fees and charges. Among the key reforms of the Act was the removal of the requirement to pay upfront fees for making requests to public bodies and the significant reduction in the cost of applying for internal reviews and appeals to the Information Commissioner. In addition, in relation to non-personal requests, a minimum threshold of €101 was introduced below which no search, retrieval and copying fees can be charged. This means that if a request is focused and takes no longer than five hours to search for, the requests will be processed free of charge. However, I, as Minister, have no role in monitoring or policing of individual decisions, including in relation to fees.

For the information of the Deputy, some 30,417 FOI requests were processed by public bodies in 2016. It is a record number and a doubling of the number reached under the previous Act, with 73% of those requests granted either in full or in part. It is also worth noting that in only 3% of cases did requesters avail of the review mechanism available to them.

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