Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Question 220: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the number of freedom of information requests received by his Department each month in 2007 and 2008 in tabular format; the number acceded to; the number refused; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5398/09]

Batt O'Keeffe (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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The following tables provide the information requested by the Deputy on statistics regarding Freedom of Information (FOI) requests received by my Department in the years 2007 and 2008. All FOI requests received by my Department are processed in accordance with the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act 1997, as amended in 2003, and are either granted or refused on that basis.

Over 70% of the requests which were refused during 2007 and 2008 were personal requests seeking the records of former residents of Industrial and Reformatory schools. The Residential Institutions Redress Unit at my Department refuses many FOI requests under Section 10(1)(a) of the FOI Act on the grounds that records do not exist in the Department. My Department maintains records relating solely to children who were committed to some 59 Industrial and Reformatory Schools over varying periods of time following a court hearing. Many children were placed in schools by alternative means, e.g. Health Board referrals, voluntary placement, etc. and in such instances, the Department generally does not hold any records.