Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Wednesday, 9 Oct 2002

Vol. 554 No. 5

Written Answers. - Freedom of Information.

Ruairí Quinn

Ceist:

412 Mr. Quinn asked the Minister for Finance if he will propose regulations extending the Freedom of Information Act, 1997, to the Refugee Applications Commissioner and the Refugee Appeals Tribunal, under section 3 of and paragraph 1(5) of the First Schedule to that Act, in order to enable refugee applicants or appellants to have access under the Act to records relating to them; if he has engaged or plans to engage in consultations with another Minister as envisaged by the said paragraph 1(5); if so, the details in that regard; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16116/02]

Minister for Finance (Mr. McCreevy):

Regulations of the type referred to in the Deputy's question are proposed in order to extend the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act 1997 to the Refugee Applications Commissioner and to the Refugee Appeals Tribunal. Consultations are taking place between my Department, the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform and the bodies concerned with a view to bringing both bodies within the remit of FOI in the near future and about the nature and scope of their coverage by the Act.

Ruairí Quinn

Ceist:

413 Mr. Quinn asked the Minister for Finance the bodies in or under the aegis of his Department, which have not to date been made subject to the Freedom of Information Act, 1997; if consideration has been given to making each of these bodies subject to the Act; if so, the present state of such consideration; if each of the bodies in question has been consulted in the matter; if so, the present state of such consultations; if each of the bodies will be proposed to be made subject to the Act; if so, when; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16122/02]

Minister for Finance (Mr. McCreevy):

The bodies under the aegis of my Department which have not to date been made subject to the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act are: the Central Bank of Ireland, the National Treasury Management Agency, the Valuation Tribunal, the Institute of Public Administration, the Economic and Social Research Institute, the Public Service Benchmarking Body, Review Body on Higher Remuneration in the Public Sector, the European Regional Development Fund Financial Control Unit, the DP-CSF Evaluation Unit, the NDP-CSF Information Office, and the NDP-CSF IT Unit. The latter four bodies listed above are due to be made subject to FOI with effect from 1 November 2002.

The FOI Act has been extended to additional public bodies on a phased basis since it commenced in April 1998. The Government has decided that this process should continue so that all bodies appropriate for inclusion are covered by end-2005. The extension of FOI to the above bodies will be considered in this context. Consultations at official level will be initiated in the near future by my Department with a view to setting dates, where appropriate, for their inclusion.