Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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112. To ask the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence the number of freedom of information requests received by his Department in each of the years 2013 to 2017; the average time taken in these years to complete the requests by his Department; the number of requests to his Department for these years that ran beyond the deadline for the request; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6889/18]

Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael)
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The number of Freedom of Information requests received in my Department in the years concerned are:

201340

201429

201594

2016 120

2017154

Time spent dealing with Freedom of Information requests forms part of the normal duties of officials. As this time is not monitored separately, it is not possible to calculate the average time taken to process FOI requests.

The required response time for FOI requests is 20 working days. Where it is not possible, due to the number of records to be searched or released, to respond within the designated time, the assigned decision maker in the Department negotiates and agrees with the requester an extension to the response date of up to 20 further working days as provided for in the FOI Act.

My Department's records show that in 2016 one requester did not receive a response within the initial or agreed deadline.