Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy very much for her question. I am glad to have this opportunity to provide the House with further details on the upcoming review of the Freedom of Information Act. My Department will shortly publish a roadmap document that will set out in detail the process for the review and give detailed information on how interested stakeholders can get involved.

My firm belief is that we should be seeking to promote a collaborative approach not only to the review process but also to "doing transparency" more broadly. We should recognise that all stakeholders, from the public sector to the media, academia, activists and interest groups, in addition to individual requesters, have a role to play in delivering effective and meaningful State transparency for the Irish public, and must work together to achieve that goal.

The remit and outcomes of the review will be driven by evidence. The review will, accordingly, seek inputs from the broadest possible range of stakeholders throughout the process. It is planned that public consultation will take place later this year. It will largely determine the scope of the review. I urge all interested parties to take this opportunity to make their voices heard and define the issues that will be considered in the review.

Following the scoping consultation, my Department will prepare and publish a document setting out the issues that have been identified. This document will be published and further consultation will take place early in the new year that will allow stakeholders the opportunity to make detailed submissions based on the themes that have been identified. These submissions will be central to the outcome of the review.

Alongside the public consultation process, my Department will engage in focused and targeted information gathering, driven by any knowledge gaps identified as the review progresses.

Two projects have already been identified as necessary and will commence later in the year. First, a customer satisfaction survey will be undertaken to assess the attitudes of requesters and staff members of public bodies towards the freedom of process. Second, there is to be a project that aims to assess the cost of FOI so that we can have a clear picture of the resourcing demands that are required to operate the system as it stands. In addition, the review will consider international good practice and developments and seek to take account of the transformation in the manner in which people interact with information since the 2014 Act came into force.

See this speech in context