Fee ‘has led to fewer FoI requests’

FINANCE Minister Brian Cowen has acknowledged publicly for the first time that the €15 fee introduced for Freedom of Information applications has contributed to the dramatic fall in requests from the media.

Only 963 requests were made by journalists last year across all Government departments and public bodies, which represented an all-time low.

Labour Party leader Pat Rabbitte, in a parliamentary question, asked the minister to respond to the views of the Ombudsman Emily O’Reilly. She said the decrease had been caused by the continued exclusion of some public bodies from the scope of the act and the introduction of fees in 2003.