Dáil Éireann Debate, Monday - 11 September 2023
888. Deputy Patrick Costello asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to provide a list of all actions taken by his Department regarding the Mulcahy report in relation to planning issues in Donegal between its delivery to his Department in 2017 and August 2023. [37864/23]
View answerThe Report, entitled 'A Review Into Certain Planning Matters in Respect of Donegal County Council', by Mr. Rory Mulcahy S.C., received by my Department in June, 2017, remains under consideration. The Report is a scoping report and as such it does not make findings as to the truth or otherwise of allegations that have been made by an individual against named persons.
Following an initial analysis and assessment of the Report’s findings and recommendations, the advices of the Attorney General's office on a comprehensive set of queries, including the potential dissemination or publication of the Report, were sought and have been taken into account. I continue to consider the Report and the extensive legal advices received, given that the Report details unproven allegations against named persons.
Where access to the report has been withheld by my Department from Access to Information on the Environment requests or Freedom of Information requests, the decisions by both the Commissioner for Environmental Information (OCE-103174-W9G4J2 (Legacy Reference CEI-18-0019)) of 13 February 2019 and the Information Commissioner (OIC-59426-Q8D7T8) of 27 February 2020, were taken into account.
It should be noted that in each of these cases, both the Commissioner for Environmental Information and the Information Commissioner decided not to grant access to the report. Both decisions are publicly available on those bodies' websites. Further, the Office of the Information Commissioner decision stated "placing the details concerned in the public domain would significantly breach the rights to privacy of identifiable individuals."
This matter is extremely complex and requires very careful consideration. My Department is engaging with various stakeholders on this matter, namely the Attorney Generals Office and the Office of the Planning Regulator. Following this engagement I hope to be in a position to bring a Memo to Government regarding my proposed next steps by the end of the year.
