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Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 30 Nov 1999

Vol. 511 No. 6

Written Answers. - Freedom of Information Act.

Jim O'Keeffe

Ceist:

338 Mr. J. O'Keeffe asked the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs the number of requests received in his Department under the Freedom of Information Act, 1997; the number of staff dealing with these queries; if staffing levels are adequate; the type of requests received; and the cost to his Department of providing this information in comparison to the fees received for providing it. [24981/99]

During the period 21 April 1998 to 21 November 1999, my Department received a total of 847 requests under the Freedom of Information Act 1997; 767 were requests for personal information and 80 were requests for information of a non-personal nature.

There are two members of staff working solely on freedom of information in the FOI support unit. In addition, staff engaged in the administration and management of the Department's business devote time to requests under the FOI legislation as and when required. There are 95 officers, including reserve officers and internal reviewers, who make decisions under the Act under these arrangements. Similarly, clerical staff are diverted from their normal duties for search and retrieval of records as required.

These arrangements are designed to ensure that requests are processed efficiently and on a cost-effective basis. They are being actively monitored, and as in the case of other areas of the Department's activities, staffing levels are subject to adjustment having regard to overall business requirements.

The requests for non-personal information related to the commercial activities of the Department; reports prepared by or for the Department related to ongoing policy development; my expenses as Minister and those of specified staff members; the minutes of the management advisory committee; the numbers of applications for certain schemes run by the Department; and details of performance awards made to staff.
Fees are not sought in the case of requests for personal information, which form 90 per cent of the requests received. Fees have been sought in a small number of cases where requests for non-personal information involve large numbers of records, where information has been sought for commercial reasons or where multiple requests have been received from the same person. In these cases, the requests are not processed until the fees are paid.
Many of the requests for personal information have arisen in the context of appeal hearings or requests for explanation of decisions. The provision of information under this legislation has given rise to increased costs for my Department but estimates of the costs involved have been made only in cases where fees are being sought. Where fees are charged, the costs which are recoverable under the legislation are limited to the time expended in search and retrieval of records and the cost of copying the records. No charge can be made for the time taken in examining the records for exempt material, consultation with third parties, decision-making or processing appeals to internal review or to the information commissioner. The fees received represent a relatively small part of the cost of providing the service but this is in part due in large measure to the nature of the business in which my Department is engaged.
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