Vol. 458 No. 8
59 Mr. B. Ahern asked the Minister for Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht the earliest time for which closed files extend in the National Archives; whether there is a regular review of them; and his views on whether a definite date should be set for the opening of such files. [16038/95]
While I have statutory responsibility for the National Archives certain reserve powers under the National Archives Act, 1986 in relation to whether files should remain closed to public inspection remain with An Taoiseach.
The bulk of the files in the National Archives which are closed to inspection are less than 50 years old. However, a small but nevertheless significant proportion of the files for the 1920s and 1930s are closed. On occasion a file of papers recording confidential information of a personal nature dating mainly from the post-1922 period also contains some earlier papers, and it appears that the oldest paper on a file closed for this reason is one dating from 1901.
Under the National Archives Act, 1986 files of Government Departments over 30 years old must automatically be transferred to the National Archives to be made available for public inspection unless there is a certificate from an officer of a Department of State saying the file is in regular use.
Under the 1986 Act an officer of the Department of State, with the consent of an officer of the Department of the Taoiseach may also decide that a file may remain closed for a number of other reasons, where there would be a breach of statutory duty, where information has been given in confidence, where information of a personal nature might endanger or distress living individuals, where there is the possibility of a defamation action, or if giving of information would be contrary to public interest.
