Liam Quaide (Cork East, Social Democrats)
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272. To ask the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence the grounds under the National Archives Act, 1986, 8(4), under which his Department applied for a Certificate of Withholding from Public Inspection of Departmental Records for the 102 certificates issued in 2024; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29193/25]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I would like to thank the Deputy for his question. The decision to withhold records is provided for under Section 8(4) of the National Archives Act. During 2024 my Department mostly relied upon Section 8(4)(c) as the grounds to support the withholding of records from immediate public inspection. Section 8(4)(c) provides that records may be withheld if the release would or might cause distress or danger to living persons on the ground that they contain information about individuals, or would or might be likely to lead to an action for damages for defamation.

Certificates of Withholding, along with a schedule of the records, are sent to the designated officer (Consenting Officer) in the Department of the Taoiseach. The Consenting Officer reviews the request and decides whether to approve it.

Withheld records must be reviewed every five years. If the reason for withholding no longer applies, the records will then be made available for public inspection.

The increase in the number of applications for withholding certificates in 2024 compared to previous years, reflects the backlog of files that the Department was working through. The backlog existed due to resource arrangements in the Department and delays caused by Covid19.