Vol. 492 No. 2
34 Ms Shortall asked the Minister for Finance if all relevant bodies have produced the statements required under sections 15 and 16 of the Freedom of Information Act, 1997; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13712/98]
Almost all public bodies within the scope of the Freedom of Information Act have produced publications in accordance with section 15, and section 16 where appropriate, of that Act. These can be obtained from or inspected through the public bodies involved.
The Deputy will be aware that section 15 of the Freedom of Information Act provides for production of publications relating to the general structure of the organisation, its functions, duties and powers; the services it provides, the records it holds and the arrangements made to facilitate access to those records by the public. All public bodies under the aegis of the Act are obliged to produce a publication under this section and these are widely available.
The Deputy will also be aware that section 16 of the Act provides for production of more detailed publications relating to the rules, procedures, practices, guidelines and interpretations used or kept by a public body for the purposes of enactments or schemes administered which affect members of the public. Most public bodies have met this publication requirement. However, in some instances, section 16 texts are available for inspection only, and the public bodies involved are making arrangements for general publication of these documents in the near future.
I have made arrangements for a leaflet on freedom of information which provides contact points for the public bodies under the scope of the Act to be made available to the Deputy should she wish to obtain access to publications required under the Act. A small number of public bodies have yet to finalise their material. Their work is at an advanced stage and I expect that their publications will be available in the very near future.
