Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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Question 400: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government if his attention has been drawn to the Freedom of Information request (details supplied) submitted to his Department in May 2008 and appealed in October 2008; if his attention has further been drawn to the fact that access to 50 documents was refused and that in some cases the reason for refusal was that the files had gone missing; the efforts which have been made to retrieve these files; if these efforts have been successful; if their are concerns with respect to data protection in relation to these files; if his attention has been drawn to the significant number of such files that have gone missing in his Department; the procedures which have been implemented in the interim to reduce the risk of such files disappearing in the future; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24595/09]

John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)
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The request referred to was recorded in July 2008 and over 184 records were identified across the relevant sections of my Department. Of these, 120 have been released in full and 3 records were partially released. This case is now the subject of a review by the Office of the Commissioner for Environmental Information.

One file relevant to the case could not be located despite an extensive search. My Department does not believe any data protection issue arises. The Section concerned has introduced a new computerised electronic working papers system, which aims to ensure more effective data management procedures and all working papers retained on laptops are encrypted. My Department's Record Management Strategy has been drawn up to facilitate good record keeping and is available to all staff on the Department's Intranet.