Michael Ahern (Cork East, Fianna Fail)

I am opposed to this amendment. There are no grounds for restricting to 12 months the period for which a public body could invoke the provision whereby a failure to pay a fee properly charged under FOI can constitute grounds for refusal of a request. This would serve to restrict unduly a public body when taking unreasonable behaviour into account.

The payment of a fee is a requirement under the Freedom of Information Act and it is only correct that a previous failure to pay a fee should constitute grounds for refusal of a request, regardless of when that failure occurred. The fee of £127,000 incurred by one person was mentioned. The body involved reduced the fee to €600 and the individual even appealed that. If a person ran up such a fee and after 12 months and one day decided to submit a request, that fee and the cost involved would be the responsibility of the body. He could then do the same again a year later.

In Australia, a minimum of €1,800 is charged for a request. In addition, a person can go to the Information Commissioner for a review if he or she is not happy with the decision made by the public body.