Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 36:

In page 121, between lines 9 and 10, to insert the following: "Application of Freedom of Information Act 2014 to Authority

135.(1) Notwithstanding section 6(12) of the Freedom of Information Act 2014, the obligations under that Act shall apply to the Authority on and from the establishment day of the Authority.

(2) Notwithstanding section 2(1) of the Freedom of Information Act 2014, the “effective date” in the case of the Authority shall, for the purposes of that Act, be 21 April 2008.".

These are technical amendments to provisions concerning the Freedom of Information Act 2014. Amendment No. 36 relates to the new policing and community safety authority. It proposes to insert a new section to clarify aspects of the 2014 Act and their application to the new authority. Under section 6(12) of the 2014 Act, the obligations under the Act would only apply to the new authority on and from a date that could be up to six months after its establishment. The proposed new subsection ensures those obligations will apply to the new authority from the date of its establishment. This ensures there will be no gap between the application of the obligations of the Policing Authority and the Garda Inspectorate and those of the new authority.

The proposed new subsection (2) confirms that the effective date for the new authority for the purposes of the Freedom of Information Act 2014 is 21 April 2008. The effective date is the date from when the Act first applies to the new authority. The date of 21 April 2008 has been chosen as an appropriate effective date as it captures the effective date of both the Garda Inspectorate and the Policing Authority. The records of both the Policing Authority and the Garda Inspectorate are to be transferred to the new authority under sections 158 and 164 of the Bill. This ensures the new authority can fulfil any obligations of the Policing Authority and Garda Inspectorate under the 2014 Act with regard to those records.

Amendments Nos. 38 and 42 are technical amendments that provide for transitional provisions relating to the application of the Freedom of Information Act 2014 to any transferred records of the Policing Authority and the Garda Inspectorate. The effect of amendment No. 38 is that any actions or applications commenced by the Policing Authority will be completed by the new authority upon dissolution of the former.

This will ensure compatibility with the Freedom of Information Act 2014. Similarly, the effect of amendment No. 42 is that any actions or applications commenced by the current Garda Síochána Inspectorate will be completed by the new authority upon the former's dissolution. This will also be in line with the Freedom of Information Act 2014. Amendments Nos. 37 and 40 are consequential amendments arising from the insertion of the new section on transitional provisions in respect of the transfer of the records of the Policing Authority and the Garda Síochána Inspectorate.

Amendment No. 77 amends the amendment to Schedule 1 to the Freedom of Information Act 2014. An Garda Síochána is a partially excluded public body under freedom of information legislation. This means that freedom of information requests in respect of An Garda Síochána may only relate to human resources, finance or procurement. The effect of the amendment is to extend the range of records to which such requests to An Garda Síochána may relate to include the records transferred to An Garda Síochána from the Policing Authority.

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