Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

In 2017, my Department received 344 freedom of information, FOI, requests. Forty two requests were refused and no records were held in relation to 63 requests. There were 12 requests for internal review and two appeals to the Information Commissioner.

There has been a significant increase in the number of FOI requests received in my Department since the new Freedom of Information Act came into operation in 2014. I acknowledge the Deputy’s central role in the expansion of the scope of the FOI Act in 2014, which I was proud to support while in government with the Deputy. This much needed reform reversed the negative impact of the restrictions introduced by the previous Fianna Fail-led Government.

In 2013, my Department received 92 requests. This figure rose to 290 in 2015 and 344 in 2017, which represents an increase of 374%. The majority of requests submitted to my Department are generally non-personal requests from members of the media.

All requests received in my Department are processed by designated officials in accordance with the FOI Acts. If a requester has difficulty with an FOI decision, he or she can seek an internal review, followed by appeal to the Information Commissioner. The FOI statutory framework keeps the decision-making process at arm's length from the political head of the Department and his or her political advisers and I have no role in the decision making process for requests received in my Department. At most, one is asked for observations but I have not been so asked since I became Taoiseach.

There are two members of staff working in the Department’s FOI Unit, both of whom perform other duties. Staff from across the Department are also involved in processing requests in addition to routine duties such as searching and retrieving records and making decisions on requests received.

Section 8 of the Freedom of Information Act 2014 requires each FOI body to prepare and publish a publication scheme. My Department's scheme is published on its website and it sets out a range of information about the type of records it holds. My Department also publishes a range of information on its website on a quarterly basis, including details of foreign travel expenses, details of invoices paid in excess of €20,000, minutes of the Department’s management advisory committee meetings and a log of non-personal freedom of information requests.

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