Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 6 July 2021
356. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of freedom of information requests refused by her 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. [36167/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe total number of requests under the Freedom of Information Acts received in the period from October 2014 (when the 2014 Act commenced) to 2020 is 15,744. Of those, 1,168 were refused under the Acts.
The number of Freedom of Information requests refused by my Department for the years 2019, 2020 and to date in 2021 have been reviewed. This review shows that four requests have been refused for the search, retrieval and copying costs exceeding the maximum ceiling under the Acts during this period.
The number of Freedom of Information requests from October 2014 to the end of 2018 which were refused for the same reason is not readily available. However, given that only four were refused for this reason in a 2.5 year period, it is highly likely that this figure would also be low for the previous four year period.
Officials in the Department operate in the spirit of the Freedom of Information Acts. Officials occasionally contact requesters if the FOI request is vague. Requesters welcome this engagement as often the record they are seeking would not be retrieved by the original request. This dialogue between requesters and decision-makers under the FOI Acts is an iterative process and not captured in the statistical data kept by the Department.
