Information Acts do not apply to gardaí
Emily O’Reilly, who is also the country’s Information Commissioner, told a conference that this was one of the most serious issues to be addressed by government in the area of transparency.
“There are now several hundred bodies within the scope of the Freedom of Information Acts, but FOI is still not applicable to An Garda Síiochána. In fact, to the best of my knowledge, Ireland is the only common law country with an FOI regime which has not included the police force within it scope,” said Ms O’Reilly. “On a more positive note, I think I can say the culture of secrecy which preceded FOI is coming to an end. There is now a strong expectation in the public mind and, I think, increasing acceptance by government, that when a controversy arises, the relevant documentation will be released.”
The commissioner referred to the Government decision to publish the resignation letter of Ms Justice Laffoy as chair of the Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse, despite the timing of its release being pre-empted by its appearance in a newspaper.
Ms O’Reilly was addressing the Strengthening Democracy conference hosted by University College Cork’s Department of Government.
She expressed reservations about the amendments to FOI laws adopted before the Dáil’s summer recess, particularly the move to charge individuals for non-personal documents. These range from €15 for an initial request to €150 if the person wishes to appeal a refusal to the Information Commissioner. “I have little doubt that the scale of the charges will prove a disincentive to accessing what is a right - information - and if refused, further access to an independent appeals mechanism.”
She posed the question of whether public servants will feel encouraged to refuse requests for information, knowing that the requester may not be able to afford an appeal to her office.
Figures unearthed by Fine Gael during the summer showed there had been a significant drop in numbers of FOI requests to Government departments in the immediate aftermath of fees being introduced.
UCC law lecturer Maeve McDonagh has also found that the level of appeals sought in Australia, where charges are applied, is almost 10 times less than the level in Ireland before the 150 fee was introduced.
