Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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414. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he will provide an update on the review into the workings of the Freedom of Information Act 2014. [1571/23]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy for giving me the opportunity to address the review of the Freedom of Information Act.

Firstly, I would like to acknowledge the work that has already been put in to this project by Minister McGrath.  Under his guidance, an update setting out the current position in the review was brought to Government, and subsequently issued to stakeholders and published late last year.

Given the breadth and complexity of the issues involved, it is envisaged that the review will be completed and the report brought to Government for approval later in the first quarter of this year.  

My Department is continuing its engagement with key stakeholders in the public sector on draft preliminary recommendations.  I expect to shortly to be presented with final findings and recommendations in the form of a draft review report.  In turn, I expect to present the review report to Government for approval and publication before the end of the first quarter of this year.  At that point, subject to Government approval, amending legislation will be tabled if required and an implementation process will commence.

The review process has been an open and collaborative process, and received approximately 1,200 submissions to its consultation phases, as well as a further approximately 1,100 returns to a customer satisfaction survey.  I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of the stakeholders across all sectors who took the time to make their contributions to this important process.