Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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127. To ask the Minister for Finance 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. [6892/18]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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I have set out below in the following table the number of requests received in each year, those closed within the time limits and those closed outside the original time limits:

20 Freedom of Information requests from 2017 remain live.

Requests may be closed outside the original time limits in a variety of circumstances, including -

- a deposit being sought,

- clarification being sought from the requester,

- where 3rd party consultation is required;

- where an appeal is made in respect of a proposed fee;

- where an extended timeframe is agreed between the requester and the decision maker.

The time spent in responding to freedom of information requests is not specifically monitored, other than in relation to estimated and actual search and retrieval time where a deposit is sought and obtained from a requester. Actual time spent in processing a request varies substantially depending on the scope and nature of the request concerned.