Written answers

Wednesday, 19 January 2022

Department of Public Expenditure and Reform

Freedom of Information

Photo of Mairead FarrellMairead Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein)
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406. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the methodology he will be using for the cost of his review of the freedom of information regime; and the way he will be calculating the cost savings that it generates. [2267/22]

Photo of Michael McGrathMichael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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An initial public consultation on the scope of the freedom of information review closed a week before Christmas, having received almost 1,200 responses.  The process of analysing the responses has commenced, which will inform a consultation paper to be published in the spring.  A customer satisfaction survey is also set to launch shortly, which seek to gain a deeper insight into the experiences of the FOI process on the part of requesters, as well as staff of FOI Bodies.

As regards the costing exercise that is planned for the review, at present the methodology has not yet been finalised but will be published once work has been completed.

International experience has noted the inherent difficulty in placing a monetary cost on FOI-type systems.  However, in order to paint a full and realistic picture of all facets of the system, estimating the resourcing implications is a necessary part of the task.  In terms of "cost savings" associated with FOI, this would be even more difficult to estimate in purely pecuniary terms, or to isolate from the vast array of audit and oversight measures operating across the civil and public service.

The costing aspect of the review process represents only one part of the approach, and contributes to the broader task of assessing the impacts of FOI, in order to ascertain what can be improved in order to provide the best possible outcomes and value for money.

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