Vol. 515 No. 1
39 Mr. Deasy asked the Minister for Finance if the salaries, expenses and benefits in kind of executives of State and semi-State bodies are available for examination by the public under the Freedom of Information Act, 1997; and, if not, the reason in this regard. [4155/00]
Under the Freedom of Information Act, 1997, information about an identifiable individual is generally defined as personal information and, with exceptions, is not subject to be released to anyone other than the person to whom the information relates. An exception might be where the public interest is judged to be sufficiently strong to override considerations of confidentiality and privacy which may apply.
However, where an individual holds office as a director, or occupies a position as a member of the staff of a public body, the terms upon and subject to which that individual holds the office or position concerned is specifically excluded from the definition of personal information.
Accordingly, provided the body is a public body within the meaning of the Freedom of Information Act, it is open to any member of the public to seek access to records containing the terms and conditions applicable to any director or member of staff of that body and this access would generally be granted. Of course, each FOI request is considered on its own merits and in accordance with the terms of the Act. If a public body refused to give access to such records, there are various appeals mechanisms and, in the final analysis, points of law may be decided by the courts. Obviously, where records are held by bodies not subject to the Freedom of Information Act, the issue of such bodies releasing or withholding information under the FOI Act would not arise.
The Government has recently approved a major extension of the Freedom of Information Act to encompass approximately 100 additional public bodies in the broadcasting, social services, health, cultural, environment, regulatory, enterprise and education sectors. It is anticipated that this extension will be completed not later than July 2001.
