| Fee reduces number of information requests |
| THE number of Freedom of Information requests submitted to the Department of the Environment has continued to plummet since the Government slapped a €15 charge on them. Prior to the introduction of the €15 fee in July 2003, the FOI office had dealt with 349 queries in 2002 and 233 in the first six months of 2003. // Read More // |  |
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| Posted By the editors on 24/08/2005 ( Reads : 1890 ) | Comments (0) | FOI |
| Historian criticises limited access to land files |
| Research into Irish social and political history is being seriously impeded by the State's refusal to make Land Commission records "freely accessible", a leading historian has claimed.
Dr Terence Dooley, an author and lecturer in modern history at NUI Maynooth, said "researchers as a body are becoming increasingly frustrated" at their inability to access the estimated 11 million records relating to the commission, which was responsible for redistributing land in the State up to the 1980s.
"There is no doubt this is the single most important, social economic, if not political, archive of the late 19th century and throughout the 20th century," he told The Irish Times. // Read More // | |
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| Posted By debra james on 16/07/2004 ( Reads : 2130 ) | Comments (0) | FOI |
| Call for review of FOI fees |
| A call for a review of the scale and structure of the charges under the Freedom of Information Act to include input by all interested parties was made yesterday by the Information Commissioner, Ms Emily O'Reilly.
Addressing the Joint Committee on Finance and Public Service, Ms O'Reilly said she issued a report last month detailing the effects of the amendments and the fees increase on the FOI Act. The results were that there was a huge decline in both requests and appeals.
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| Posted By debra james on 09/07/2004 ( Reads : 2114 ) | Comments (0) | FOI |
| Government may refund successful FOI appeals |
| The Government is to consider refunding fees where people successfully appeal refusals to grant information under the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act, the Taoiseach told the Dáil.
Mr Ahern was replying to the Fine Gael leader, Mr Enda Kenny, who said that use of the Act had been cut dramatically since the introduction of fees. He asked the Taoiseach if he accepted that a person who successfully appealed a refusal of access to information should be reimbursed the fees involved.
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| Posted By debra james on 09/07/2004 ( Reads : 1902 ) | Comments (0) | FOI |
| O'Reilly calls for cut in FOI fees as requests drop by 50% |
| IRELAND'S information watchdog has called for a reduction in fees for Freedom of Information requests after she revealed applications were down by 50% since their imposition.
Information Commissioner Emily O'Reilly told the Dáil Finance sub-committee the fees were not even meeting the ?15,000 spent on collecting them and were endangering the operation of the act.
She said she would be disappointed if some charges under the act, which were introduced by Finance Minister Charlie McCreevy, were not reduced. // Read More // | |
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| Posted By debra james on 08/07/2004 ( Reads : 1949 ) | Comments (0) | FOI |
| Freedom of Information delays 'shameful' |
| DECISIONS on the release of contentious records under the Freedom Of Information Act are being delayed by years due to a lack of staff in the appeals body.
Information commissioner Emily O'Reilly is concerned at the delays in the processing of appeals by her office due to pressures of resources. The Office of the Information Commissioner (OIC) said in recent weeks they had 900 appeals, including some cases received in 1999, and 200 from before January 2002.
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| Posted By debra james on 05/07/2004 ( Reads : 1879 ) | Comments (0) | FOI |
| Access denied: how the government has stemmed the FoI flow of information |
| If the taxpayer's €170 million contribution to the revised national stadium project rises due to cost overruns, don't count on reading it in the papers before the government signs the contract.
The curtailments to the Freedom of Information Act introduced by the government last year have put the genie back in the bottle when it comes to giving the public access to such information. // Read More // | |
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| Posted By the editors on 09/02/2004 ( Reads : 1814 ) | Comments (0) | FOI |
| Ombudsman to investigate Freedom of Information Act charges |
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The Government's decision to impose charges for Freedom of Information Act requests will be put under review next April, the Information Commissioner, Ms Emily O'Reilly, has said.
Her declaration came after figures released to the Dáil revealed that the number of applications has more than halved since the legislation was restricted six months ago.
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| Posted By Debra James on 10/10/2003 ( Reads : 1613 ) | Comments (0) | FOI |
| The Price of Information [LETTERS] |
| Madam - In the debates over the Freedom of Information Act and its recent restrictions, no mention appears to have been made of the European Directive that assures access to such information when it relates to the environment. // Read More // | |
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| Posted By the editors on 14/07/2003 ( Reads : 1453 ) | Comments (0) | FOI |
| Ombudsman says FoI fees a 'disincentive' |
| There is little doubt that the scale of charges imposed for Freedom of Information (FoI) requests will prove "a massive disincentive" to members of the public, according to the Ombudsman and Information Commissioner, Ms Emily O'Reilly.
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| Posted By Debra James on 12/07/2003 ( Reads : 1485 ) | Comments (0) | FOI |
| Kenny calls for refunds in FoI appeals row |
| FINE Gael leader Enda Kenny has asked Information Commissioner Emily O'Reilly to intervene in the latest Freedom of Information row, writes Gene McKenna.
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| Posted By Debra James on 08/07/2003 ( Reads : 1495 ) | Comments (0) | FOI |
| Information requests down 30pc after curbs |
| REQUESTS under the Freedom of Information Act have declined by almost 30pc since the Government introduced restrictions three months ago.
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| Posted By Debra James on 05/07/2003 ( Reads : 1527 ) | Comments (0) | FOI |
| Information chief criticises FOI appeals fees |
| The newly-appointed Information Commissioner and Ombudsman was last night in conflict with the Government, following her sharp criticism of the decision to charge for Freedom of Information appeals.
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| Posted By Debra James on 02/07/2003 ( Reads : 1425 ) | Comments (0) | FOI |
| The price of freedom . . . new charges for information |
| AN up-front fee of €15 is to apply to Freedom of Information requests for non-personal information from next week, Finance Minister Charlie McCreevy announced yesterday.
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| Posted By Debra James on 01/07/2003 ( Reads : 1458 ) | Comments (0) | FOI |
| Murphy identifies possible future FOI legal challenges |
| The Information Commissioner appears to believe the Freedom of Information Act is working very well. So why is the Government out to weaken it, asks Mark Brennock, Chief Political Correspondent. // Read More // | |
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| Posted By The Editors on 14/03/2003 ( Reads : 1412 ) | Comments (0) | FOI |
| Freedom of information and rights of the abused |
| THE new Freedom of Information Amendment Bill is now before the Oireachtas in circumstances that show callous disregard for personal rights.
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| Posted By The Editors on 14/03/2003 ( Reads : 1421 ) | Comments (0) | FOI |
| Minister not entitled to withhold information |
| The High Court has ruled the Minister for Justice may not refuse to disclose information about the proposed establishment of an explosives factory in Co Clare, on the ground that the information is security sensitive and therefore privileged. // Read More // | |
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| Posted By The Editors on 14/03/2003 ( Reads : 1328 ) | Comments (0) | FOI |
| FOI Act changes a godsend for those with something to hide |
| The Freedom of Information Act proposals fly in the face of any culture of openness, writes Eithne Fitzgerald. // Read More // | |
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| Posted By The Editors on 10/03/2003 ( Reads : 1179 ) | Comments (0) | FOI |
| Lobby group challenge FOI act amendments |
| AN ENVIRONMENTAL lobby group is challenging the proposed amendments to the Freedom of Information Act (FOI) alleging that the "up front fee" to be charged for requests is in breach of an EU directive. // Read More // | |
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| Posted By The Editors on 10/03/2003 ( Reads : 1153 ) | Comments (0) | FOI |
| Know that there is no bliss in ignorance |
| SELDOM has Dr Michael Woods got it so right. In 1997, the then future Minister for Education described the Freedom of Information Act going through the Oireachtas as "little more than a window-dressing exercise in freedom of information." He also criticised the Rainbow Coalition's failure to repeal the Official Secrets Act as "complete nonsense". // Read More // | |
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| Posted By The Editors on 09/03/2003 ( Reads : 1175 ) | Comments (0) | FOI |
