Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)
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97. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the number of full-time and part-time contracted staff employed by his Department, and by any body or entity under the aegis of his Department, respectively which is subject to the Freedom of Information Act 2014, in each of the past three years; the Civil Service grade of each; the number of freedom of information requests dealt with by his Department or any body under its aegis in each of the past three years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27233/24]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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The Freedom of Information Act 2014 provides an important mechanism to facilitate access to records held by the Department of Foreign Affairs.Officials of my Department are mindful of their obligations under the terms of the Act and over the preceding three years have processed a total of 866 valid Freedom of Information requests. This total comprises 309 requests in 2021, 272 requests in 2022 and 285 requests in 2023.Requests, when received, are checked by a dedicated Freedom of Information Unit to ensure validity before assignation to the relevant unit or division of the Department for processing and response. The Freedom of Information Unit currently has a staffing complement of three: an Assistant Principal Officer (who covers Freedom of Information as well as other responsibilities), an Executive Officer and a Clerical Officer. This staffing complement has been maintained in each of the years since 2021, with the exception of short periods in 2022 and 2023 when the unit carried a vacancy at Clerical Officer level. The Unit liaises with requesters and provides guidance to divisions & responding officers on the provisions and obligations of the Act.