Written answers

Tuesday, 24 March 2015

Department of Social Protection

Freedom of Information Requests

Photo of Billy KelleherBilly Kelleher (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
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224. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the number of occasions since the start of 2014 in which the Secretary General of her Department has been involved in the clearing or approval of material for release under Freedom of Information legislation. [11805/15]

Photo of Joan BurtonJoan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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Freedom of Information (FOI) confers three rights on members of the public:

1.A right to access all records unless they are exempt.

2.A right to have personal information amended where it is incomplete, incorrect or misleading.

3.A right to reasons for decisions regarding acts of public bodies affecting the person.

The FOI Act empowers the Minister to delegate functions relating to decisions on FOI requests to officers in Department of Social Protection (DSP).

In the Department of Social Protection generally Executive Officers (or above) decide requests for personal information and staff in the grade of Higher Executive Officer (or above) decide non-personal or mixed requests.

In accordance with the provisions of the FOI Act, more senior staff decide requests for internal review i.e. Higher Executive Officers (and above) in the case of personal requests and Assistant Principals (and above) in the case of non-personal requests. Reserve FOI Officers and Reviewers have also been appointed.

Officers dealing with FOI requests are trained in FOI legislation and dealing with all aspects of FOI requests.

The FOI Officers and FOI Reviewers decide whether to grant, part grant or refuse a request for access to records in accordance with the FOI Act. This is a strictly independent process and only those Officers may decide what to clear and approve for release. The Secretary General of DSP has no involvement in the clearing or approval of material for release on FOI requests.

Section 34 of the 2014 Act (previously section 20 of 1997 Act), creates an exemption from release in the case of a record in respect of which a Secretary General of a Department has certified that it 'relates to the deliberative processes of a Department of State'. To date, no such certificate has issued from DSP.

In 2014 some 2,193 FOI requests were received in the Department.

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