FoI review to finally be delivered next year

MINISTER for Public Expenditure Michael McGrath will publish a long-awaited review of the Freedom of Information Act next year, it was confirmed yesterday.

It comes amid criticisms that some public bodies are not complying with the process.

The Freedom of Information (FoI) legislation allows journalists and the public to obtain information from public bodies and was last updated in 2014.

In July, Information Commissioner Peter Tyndall warned that there was ‘considerable room for improvement’ in the release of information. ‘There are a number of issues that need to be addressed to improve the Act for everyone, including users and public bodies,’ Mr Tyndall said.

He noted that the Department of the Taoiseach refused to release the agenda and minutes of meetings of the senior officials group on Covid-19. The commissioner examined the records and allowed their release because they involved the practical aspects of responding to the pandemic.

The FoI Act also came in for sharp criticism over the summer as news of the botched appointment of Katherine Zappone as UN special envoy came to light.

A request by the Irish Daily Mail seeking text message exchanges between Tánaiste Leo Varadkar and the former children’s minister was refused as the ‘records could not be found’ and ‘did not exist’.

However, Enterprise Minister Mr Varadkar later published the text messages himself, as his department admitted his phone was not checked as he was on annual leave. Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney later said he had deleted text exchanges with Ms Zappone and Mr Varadkar.

For the FoI review, there will be a public survey later this year. The research will be wrapped by mid2022 before the report is issued.

‘Room for improvement’