Speech
Minister of State Smyth's Closing Statement - Motion on Freedom of Information
From Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform
Published on
Last updated on
From Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform
Published on
Last updated on
**Check Against Delivery **
Go raibh maith agat, Ceann Comhairle.
I would like to thank all members who have contributed to this debate this evening. This debate has highlighted the timeliness of the review announced by my colleague Minister McGrath in June 2021 and the many issues to be considered.
The Department of Public Expenditure and Reform will undertake a comprehensive and careful review of the Freedom of Information Act. The approach to the review is being finalised and a report will be published shortly setting out the process. Collaboration and input from stakeholders across the public sector, in academia, media, and the experience of individuals will drive the issues to be considered in the review. A consultation on the scope of the review will take place later this year, with further consultations to be undertaken in 2022. While it is intended that the scoping consultation will determine the key themes of the review, the debate today has provided a valuable insight into the issues to be considered.
The review will:
- consider the experience of all stakeholders;
- take account of the transformation in the manner in which people seek, consume and interact with information since the 2014 Freedom of Information Act;
- review international good practice and developments;
- consult with the Office of the Information Commissioner and other key stakeholders in the data/information space; and
- consider the interaction between the FOI legislation, Data Protection legislation, and records management requirements.
While there is no doubt that there are challenges to be met and benefits that will accrue from strengthening the current FOI system, it is important to recognise that, in general, the system is functioning well.
As my colleague Minister McGrath set out earlier, this is a system which has seen and managed a doubling of requests from 2014 to 2019. FOI requests can since 2014 be made to approximately 600 bodies.
Four out of every five FOI request decided on in 2020 were granted in full or in part, which is broadly in line with what we have seen in previous years.
Robust review mechanisms are available where a requester is unhappy with the outcome of an FOI process. However, uptake on this mechanism has remained notably and consistently low. In 2020, only 3.3% of requesters sought an internal review, while only 1.3% sought a review by the Information Commissioner, which is almost identical to what we have seen in each of the past 5 years.
The 2014 Act removed the application fee for making an FOI request. In addition, no application or search and retrieval fee applies for requests or reviews that involve requests for personal information. As such, no fee whatsoever applies at any stage in relation the approximately 60% of FOI requests in most given years that involve individuals seeking their personal information.
Effective support structures are in place to support decision makers with quarterly civil and public service network meetings providing a forum for decision makers to share experience and to get input from the Department’s Central Policy Unit. The Department of Public Expenditure and Reform maintains a central training framework from which FOI bodies can draw from to ensure that their staff are up to date on FOI requirements. Over 7,000 public sector employees have received training under the framework from its first introduction in 2015 to date. Furthermore guidance is available from both the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform and the Office of the Information Commissioner on the operation of FOI. The purpose of these structures is to support decision makers across the public sector in effectively meeting their FOI obligations.
Even in 2020, as the pandemic wrought unprecedented disruption across all sectors of Irish society, 32,652 FOI requests were processed by public sector bodies.
I would like to take this opportunity to recognise the hard work and tenacity of workers across the civil and public service who even in the face of the pandemic have ensured that the FOI system continues to operate effectively. This has required innovation, flexibility and no small measure of determination on the part of public sector workers, as normal working methods were subject to unprecedented disruption almost overnight. Indeed, even prior to this, until the onset of Covid-19, each year following the introduction of the 2014 Freedom of Information Act set a new record for demand. I would like to take this opportunity to recognise and commend the work of all staff, throughout the civil and public service, in ensuring that the FOI function has been delivered effectively through the years.
As my colleague Minister McGrath earlier noted, the figures available give a clear picture of the FOI system. However they do not tell the full story. There remain significant gaps in our knowledge. A key part of the upcoming review will be to address those gaps and to assess in a systematic way issues such as customer satisfaction and perceptions, as well as offering an opportunity for all interested stakeholders to make their voices heard.
I would also like to take this opportunity to encourage everyone with a view on the FOI system and how it might be improved, to take the upcoming opportunity to make their voices heard so that we can improve the system and ensure that it is fit for purpose in the modern world.
Go raibh maith agaibh.
ENDS