Written answers
Tuesday, 6 July 2021
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
Freedom of Information
Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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262. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he is satisfied in the context of the freedom of information publication scheme that all logs are published and up to date in compliance with the Freedom of Information Act 2014; if not, the reason they are not published; and if he will update them as a matter of priority. [36125/21]
Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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My Department routinely publishes all non-personal freedom of information requests through a disclosure log on its website, in compliance with the Freedom of Information Act 2014. The current disclosure log shows requests from 2015 until the end of March 2021.
Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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263. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the amount collected on an annual basis since the Freedom of Information Act 2014 commenced in respect of fees attached to freedom of information requests submitted to his Department. [36143/21]
Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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My Department has collected €1,635.00 in fees related to freedom of information requests since the Freedom of Information Act 2014 commenced. The annual totals are given in the following table.
| Year | Search and Retrieval Fees | Internal Review Fees | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | nil | €75.00 | €75.00 |
| 2015 | €240.00 | €90.00 | €330.00 |
| 2016 | nil | €180.00 | €180.00 |
| 2017 | nil | €150.00 | €150.00 |
| 2018 | nil | €210.00 | €210.00 |
| 2019 | nil | €300.00 | €300.00 |
| 2020 | nil | €210.00 | €210.00 |
| 2021 (to date) | nil | €180.00 | €180.00 |
| Total | €1,635.00 |
Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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264. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the number of freedom of information requests refused by his Department since the Freedom of Information Act 2014 commenced for the reason that search and copy costs would exceed the maximum threshold; the number of requests that were subsequently granted following engagement with the requester to narrow the scope of the request; and the costs associated with same. [36161/21]
Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Since the commencement of the Freedom of Information Act 2014, my Department has advised 15 requesters that their initial request was estimated to exceed the maximum threshold for search and retrieval fees and would likely be refused on that basis.
3 of those requests were withdrawn by the requesters.
The other 12 of those requests were granted or part-granted records after engagement with the requester lead to a narrowing of the scope of the requests. There were no search and retrieval fees charged for any of these requests.
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