Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 16 November 2021
85. Deputy Fergus O'Dowd asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the progress on the review of the Freedom of Information Acts; the number of FOI requests across State agencies for each year since 2015; the number of requests fully and partially granted; and the number disallowed. [55670/21]
View answerI would like to thank the Deputy for his interest in this important topic and for allowing me this opportunity to update the House on the progress of my Department's review of the Freedom of Information Act.
In recent weeks I have published a roadmap for the review, setting out the various steps and timeframes for the process. In brief, this includes a public consultation on the scope of the review, the publication early in the new year of a consultation paper informed by stakeholders' views on the themes to be addressed and a full consultation in which my Department will seek detailed submissions on the issues.
In addition, my Department is developing a customer satisfaction survey to gauge perceptions of the FOI process, as well as a methodology for estimating the administrative burden and cost of the FOI system. As the review progresses, these key information gathering activities will be supplemented by a desk-based review of international best practices, interviews, focus groups, regional events and other activities as required.
This is a ambitious programme of work in the interests of a careful and thorough review of the FOI system. The review will conclude with a report and recommendations, which is scheduled for mid-2022.
I want to encourage all stakeholders to get involved in this important review, from the public sector to the media, academia, activists and interest groups, as well as individual requesters.
In line with this approach, my Department last week launched the initial public consultation on the scope of the review. The consultation includes a convenient online web form through which individuals can have their say, as well as submissions from public bodies, advocacy and other representative groups.
This has received a very positive response to date, with more than 200 responses received within 24 hours of launch, and a steady stream of further submissions since then. The consultation will remain open until 17th December.
In relation to the second part of the Deputy's question, a table is included below setting out the total number of requests, the numbers granted in full, in part, refused and the numbers transferred, withdrawn or handled outside the FOI system.
In general terms, the Freedom of Information Act means that any record held by an FOI body relating to its business can in principle be requested. The legislation also contains exemption provisions which allow a record to be redacted or refused in full where, for example, it contains the personal information or commercially sensitive information of third parties. This is decided on a case by case basis having regard to the specific record concerned.
Please note that an outright "disallowance" of a request is not a feature of the FOI system. The legislation does place certain obligations on requesters to state their request clearly and in a way that allows public bodies to identify relevant records by carrying out reasonable searches. This is a necessary safeguard to ensure the best possible outcomes for all concerned, particularly the requester, and to ensure a reasonably efficient use of state resources.
However, if a person who wishes to make an FOI request does not state clearly what they are looking for, that is not the end of the matter. From there, the public body is obliged by law to assist or offer to assist the requester in making their request. It is often the case that a request that was initially found to be invalid is framed appropriately with the assistance of the public body concerned and then processed in the normal way.
In other cases, a request may be made to a body that holds no relevant records, but that may be aware of another body that may have material of interest to the requester. The legislation requires that the request is transferred to the relevant body in such cases, which amount to roughly 2% of cases in most years.
It may happen that a person makes an FOI request seeking to achieve something that FOI cannot do, for example in order to make a complaint or to appeal against a decision. In such cases, they may withdraw their request once the body directs them to a more appropriate mechanism to meet their needs.
In some cases, a public body may direct a person to publicly available information or provide them with information without the need for a formal decision. This quicker and less bureaucratic approach of where possible handling issues outside of FOI to facilitate the access to information in the shortest possible time and with a minimum of fuss is encouraged as a matter of policy. In most years, around 8% of requests are withdrawn or handled outside of FOI.
The Deputy will see that the outcomes of FOI requests over the past six years has remained remarkably consistent, with more than four out of every five requests decided on by public bodies through the formal FOI process granted in full or in part.
|
Year |
Total Requests Dealt With |
Granted in full |
Granted in part |
Refused |
Transferred, withdrawn or handled outside FOI |
|
2015 |
26,886 |
14,695 |
6,153 |
3,177 |
2,841 |
|
2016 |
29,736 |
15,073 |
6,665 |
4,008 |
3,990 |
|
2017 |
32,815 |
16,704 |
7,638 |
4,826 |
3,647 |
|
2018 |
35,669 |
17,152 |
8,901 |
5,497 |
4,119 |
|
2019 |
41,176 |
19,510 |
10,805 |
6,093 |
4,768 |
|
2020 |
32,652 |
15,067 |
8,271 |
5,399 |
3,915 |
