Ossian Smyth (Dún Laoghaire, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I thank all of the Members who have contributed to this debate this evening. It has highlighted the timeliness of the review of FOI legislation my colleague, the Minister, Deputy Michael McGrath, began in June 2021. The Department of Public Expenditure and Reform will undertake a comprehensive and careful review of the Freedom of Information Act. The approach to this review is being finalised and a report will be published shortly setting out the process. Collaboration and input from stakeholders across the public sector, academia and the media, as well as the experiences of individuals, will drive the issues to be considered in the review. A consultation on the scope of the review will take place later this year, with further consultations to be undertaken in 2022. While it is intended that the scoping consultation will determine the key themes of the review, the debate today has provided a valuable insight into the issues to be considered. The review will consider the experience of all stakeholders and will take account of the transformation of the manner in which people seek, consume and interact with information since the Freedom of Information Act 2014 was enacted.

It will review international good practice and developments, consult with the Office of the Information Commissioner and other key stakeholders in the data information space and consider interaction between FOI legislation, data protection legislation and records management requirements. As some Deputies mentioned, it is a complicated area.

While there are challenges to be met and benefits will accrue from strengthening the current FOI system, it is important to recognise that in general the system functions well. As the Minister, Deputy Michael McGrath, set out earlier, the system saw and managed a doubling of requests from 2014 to 2019. FOI requests since 2014 have been made to approximately 600 bodies. Four out of every five FOI requests decided on in 2020 were granted in full or in part, which is broadly in line with what we saw in previous years. Robust review mechanisms are available where a requester is unhappy with the outcome of the FOI process. However, uptake of the mechanism has remained notably and consistently low. In 2000, 3.3% of requesters sought an internal review, while 1.3% sought a review by the Information Commissioner, which is almost identical to what we have seen in each of the past five years.

The 2014 Act removed the application fee for making an FOI request. In addition, no application or search and retrieval fee applies for requests or reviews that involve requests for personal information. As such, no fee applies at any stage in relation to approximately 60% of FOI requests in most given years that involve individuals seeking their personal information. Effective support structures are in place to support decision-makers with quarterly civil and public service network meetings providing a forum for them to share experience and get input from the Department's central policy unit. The Department for Public Expenditure and Reform maintains a central training framework from which FOI bodies can draw to ensure their staff are up to date on FOI requirements.

More than 7,000 public sector employees have received training under the framework from its introduction in 2015 to date. Guidance is available from the Department for Public Expenditure and Reform and the Office of the Information Commissioner on the operation of FOI. The purpose of these structures is to support decision-makers across the public sector in effectively meeting their FOI obligations. Even in 2020, as the pandemic wrought unprecedented destruction across all sectors of Irish society, 32,652 FOI requests were processed by public sector bodies. I take this opportunity to recognise the hard work and tenacity of workers across the Civil Service and public service who in the face of the pandemic have ensured that the FOI system continues to operate efficiently. This has required innovation, flexibility and no small measure of determination on the part of public sector workers as normal working methods were subject to unprecedented disruption almost overnight.

I encourage everyone with a view on the FOI system and how it might be improved to take the upcoming opportunity to make their voices heard so we can improve the system and ensure it is fit for purpose in the modern world.

See this speech in context