Written answers

Thursday, 11 May 2023

Department of Public Expenditure and Reform

Freedom of Information

Photo of Rose Conway-WalshRose Conway-Walsh (Mayo, Sinn Fein)
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53. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the steps he is taking to ensure that public bodies do not use FOI refusals as a means to delay the release of information; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22176/23]

Photo of Paschal DonohoePaschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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The Freedom of Information legislation provides for a right of access to records held by public bodies. However, it also recognises that there are types of records and information the release of which may harm important rights and interests of third parties or the body itself, such as the protection afforded to individuals' personal information. The legislation sets out exemptions from release for certain types of information in certain circumstances.

Since the Freedom of Information legislation was updated in 2014, the volume of requests received by public bodies annually has more than doubled. However, other key indicators have remained notably stable over that time, following an initial adjustment following the introduction of the new regime. In each year since 2015 for which figures are available, around four out of every five FOI requests decided on were granted in full or in part.

Where a requester is dissatisfied with the FOI decision they receive they may seek a review, firstly at a higher grade within the organisation concerned, and from there if required to an independent review by the Information Commissioner. The rates at which FOI decisions have been challenged has remained consistently low over time, with internal reviews sought on average in 3.2% of cases annually since 2014, and reviews by the Commissioner sought in an average of 1.4% of cases in that time.

Where the Commissioner has been called upon to make a formal finding on the approach taken by a public body in relation to a particular request, the decision has been upheld in an average of 64% of cases since 2014. The approach has been varied, i.e. upheld in part or upheld on a different basis, in 20% of cases on average, while the body's decision has been annulled or overturned in an average of 16% of cases in these years.

A review of the FOI regime is currently being concluded by my Department. Among the issues under consideration are means of ensuring that access to information is provided by more straightforward and less bureaucratic means than relying on formal FOI requests. In particular, this has included consideration of creating an informal pathway for the release of information, and updating the existing proactive publication mechanism, in order to supplement formal FOI requests. I expect to bring the final review report to Government shortly.

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