Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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Question 776: To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the public bodies and agencies within his Department exempted from the full remit of the freedom of information legislation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2737/06]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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The following bodies under the remit of my Department are subject to the full remit of the freedom of information legislation: the Competition Authority, the Office of the Director of Consumer Affairs, the Companies Registration Office, the Office of the Registrar of Friendly Societies, the Patents Office, Forfás, Enterprise Ireland, IDA Ireland, Nítrigin Éireann Teoranta, in liquidation, Shannon Development and FÁS.

In addition, on 21 October 2005, the Minister for Finance announced the extension of FOI to a number of additional bodies. Some 41 of these bodies, comprising 35 city and county enterprise boards, the Crafts Council of Ireland, the Company Law Review Group, the European Social Fund Financial Control Unit, the Labour Court, Science Foundation Ireland and Skillnets, come under the aegis of my Department. With the exception of the Labour Court, all of them will come under the full remit of FOI when the appropriate regulations are brought into effect. The Labour Court will come under the remit of FOI with respect to its administrative functions.

The bodies listed below, which come under the remit of my Department, are subject to the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act in respect of certain functions only. A full listing of the functions covered by FOI is provided in the relevant statutory instrument, Freedom of Information Act 1997 (Prescribed Bodies) (No. 3) Regulations 2001, SI 128 of 2001.

In respect of the Labour Relations Commission, records relating to the provision of services regarding particular trade disputes, employers, trade unions, employers' organisations and employees or their representatives are outside the scope of the FOI Act. In regard to the National Standards Authority of Ireland, FOI applies only with respect to the functions of management, administration, finance, commercial activity, communications, making of contracts of or for service with any person, company or other body, making and development of policy, and certification. I refer the Deputy to the Freedom of Information Act 1997 (Prescribed Bodies) (No. 2) Regulations 2001, SI 127 of 2001. In regard to the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement, ODCE, the Company Law Enforcement Act 2001, which established the ODCE, provides that FOI will apply to the office in respect of records relating to its general administration. In regard to the Health and Safety Authority, the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005 limits the applicability of FOI to records concerning the authority's enforcement functions.