Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 6 July 2021
455. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Justice if she is satisfied in the context of the freedom of information publication scheme that all logs are published and up to date in compliance with the Freedom of Information Act 2014; if not, the reason they are not published; and if she will update them as a matter of priority. [36128/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraI can assure the Deputy that I am committed to fulfilling all obligations under the Freedom of Information Act 2014. My Department’s publication of Freedom of Information disclosure logs is currently not up to date and I intend to remedy this as quickly as possible. The disclosure logs for the first six months of this year will be published this month and all remaining outstanding logs will be published by the autumn.
As the Deputy may be aware, in 2019 my Department undertook an extensive programme of transformation and organisational change. A core element of this programme is a focus on transparency, along with improved external communications and engagement, and the Department’s approach to Freedom of Information is consistent with this aim.
Following on from this transformation programme, an overall examination of processes is underway, including a review of the current model in place for dealing with Freedom of Information requests, and the updating and publication of the disclosure logs.
As a result of this examination of processes, a Freedom of Information Review Committee was recently established within my Department. One of the roles of this committee is to review the Freedom of Information publication scheme for the Department with a view to facilitating frequent and timely publication, as well as considering broadening our publication scheme to include other material and records that may be of general interest to the public.
