In addition to informal third party observations sought by my Department with the named individual on 7 October 2004, the individual's spouse contacted the Department by telephone on the same day. The outcome of that contact was to confirm the reluctance of the individual concerned to the release by the Department of the information in question.
Contact was also made by the Department with the Tribunal of Inquiry into Certain Planning Matters and Payments, which had earlier in 2004 sought and been given the relevant records/file relating to the application for forestry premium by the individual concerned. The purpose of this contact was to advise the tribunal that the Department had received a request under the Freedom of Information Acts for such records/file and to establish whether the tribunal would have a difficulty with their release. The tribunal indicated that it had no such difficulty. There was also communication with the requester for the purpose of apprising him of progress in processing his request.