Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I also want to refer to the case in April where the High Court overturned a decision by the Information Commissioner ordering UCC to release records under the Freedom of Information Act. This ruling against the Information Commissioner and in favour of the organisation making the appeal, namely, UCC, has, potentially, wider implications for the application of the Act beyond the reasons of commercial sensitivity which were quoted regarding interest rates connected with a loan. The ruling does not seem to honour the universal principle of freedom of information laws around the world which is, as the Irish Council for Civil Liberties, ICCL, and other bodies have pointed out, presumption in favour of disclosure. Removing the presumption of disclosure from public bodies threatens access to information in Ireland on a wider scale. Does the Taoiseach have an opinion on the outcome of that case and how does his Government intend to respond to protect the integrity of the Freedom of Information Acts? Since the general data protection regulation, GDPR, legislation came in, many public bodies are finding it difficult to deal with any information at all because the name of a party may be involved. The Government also needs to address this issue because it is becoming a routine reason for turning down the release of information. That is a new development concerning the public's right to access information.

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