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Freedom of Information

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 6 July 2021

Tuesday, 6 July 2021

Questions (192)

Catherine Murphy

Question:

192. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the number of freedom of information requests refused by his Department since the Freedom of Information Act 2014 commenced for the reason that search and copy costs would exceed the maximum threshold; the number of requests that were subsequently granted following engagement with the requester to narrow the scope of the request; and the costs associated with same. [36165/21]

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Written answers

Each year, my Department is required to provide an update to the Office of the Information Commissioner on its Freedom of Information (FOI) statistics for the preceding year. This update includes details of the total number of requests processed by the Department, the types of requests, whether personal or non-personal along with details on how many were granted, part-granted or refused, any internal reviews processed and any associated fees charged in connection with the requests and / or the reviews. These statistics are compiled by the FOI Unit in my Department based on the reported final outcome of each FOI request to the unit by the relevant Deciding Officers in the Department.

Section 27 of the Freedom of Information Act 2014 sets out the elements of search and retrieval which may be charged for. In most cases, there are no search, retrieval and copying charges where the request relates to an individual’s personal records. However, the Act does allow that in situations where the request relates to a significant number of records, a charge may be levied having regard to the circumstances of the requester.

In general in my Department, where the estimated search, retrieval and copying fees in any request exceeds the maximum threshold, the relevant Deciding Officer engages with the requester to ascertain if the requester wishes to amend or limit the request in order to reduce or eliminate the charges that arise or are likely to arise under Section 27(1). This engagement and any subsequent amendments to the likely charges arising are not formally reported on to the FOI Unit by the Deciding Officers. Only the final outcome is reported on and subsequently communicated to the Office of the Information Commissioner and, therefore, the material request by the Deputy is not captured by the FOI Unit in my Department.

In addition to the above, the following table outlines the amount of Search and Retrieval Fees charged by my Department for processing Freedom of Information requests from 2014 to date.

Year

Total amount of Freedom of Information Search and Retrieval fees collected

2014

€146

2015

€123

2016

-

2017

-

2018

€100

2019

-

2020

€554

2021 (to date)

€462

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