Joe Costello (Dublin Central, Labour)
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Question 614: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Education and Skills if she will ensure that the survivors of children's homes and in particular a home (details supplied) are exempt from the fee for freedom of information requests; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [29193/10]

Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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I wish to advise the Deputy that my Department generally only holds records on those former residents of Industrial & Reformatory Schools that were placed there by way of a Court hearing. There are many other institutions, some of which are listed on the Schedule to the Redress Act, in respect of which my Department had no invovlement and, as a consequence, would not maintain any records.

However, in relation to the former residents of the Industrial & Reformatory Schools, and in keeping with the spirit of Section 47 (4) (a) and (b) of the Freedom of Information Act, there is no charge to any survivor seeking access to personal records held by my Department. I would like to reassure the Deputy that my Department has dealt with approximately 13,000 requests for personal records by survivors under the terms of the aforementioned Act and no person has ever been charged for the issue of any personal records located.

As the Deputy maybe aware, under Section 6(4)(a) and (5) of the Freedom of Information Act, the provisions of that Act apply only to records created after the commencement of the Act (in 1998) with the exception of records relating to personal information.