Freedom of Information denied on review into Cork merger of councils

The Department of the Environment has rejected a Freedom of Information (FoI) request and refused to release documents and records linked to the Cork local government review process.

The department section dealing with the request said it was refusing access to a raft of records sought by the Irish Examiner because the report of the Cork Local Government Committee (CLGC) is the subject of a “continuing deliberative process”.

The department’s decision is open to appeal.

Following publication of the CLGC report last month, this newspaper lodged an FoI request for access to all communications between the CLGC, its chairman Alf Smiddy and its members, and the Department of the Environment, Minister Alan Kelly, as well as copies of all agendas and minutes of all meetings of the CLGR group since its establishment last January.

Alf Smiddy with Alan Kelly

However, after considering the request, the department’s local government section quoted sections 29(1) and 30(1)(a) of the FoI Act and refused to release the records, stating that the public interest would not be served to release the requested information at this stage.

“The report of the Cork Local Government Committee and matters dealt with in its terms of reference are undergoing examination by the Minister for the Environment, Community, and Local Government and are subject to consideration by government,” a spokesperson said.

“This examination is a continuation of, and follow-up to, the work undertaken by the Cork Local Government Committee, and there is a need to allow this deliberative process to proceed without intrusion.

“It would not be in the public interest to release records in relation to this ongoing activity of deliberation on a range of significant matters which will inform decision making by the minister and Government on the approach to be followed in this area.”

In further explaining its decision to refuse access to the documents, the department said disclosure of the records could prejudice the effectiveness of the ongoing examination and analysis of the matters dealt with by the CLGR.

“It is reasonable to expect that, in the circumstances, premature disclosure of relevant material could harm those investigations and, on balance, the public interest would not be served by granting access to the records,” the spokesman said.

Cork City Council, which is taking a legal challenge against the CLGR process, has lodged similar FoI requests.

The CLGC, established in January to review local government structures in Cork, published its report last month which recommended the merger of the city and county councils to form one supercouncil to govern the region.

The recommendation, which split the five-person committee three to two in favour of a merger, has sparked controversy.

Cork City Council is seeking a judicial review of the administrative actions of the CLGR group, and it is also poised to become the first local authority to challenge the constitutionality of government policy in relation to combining local authority areas.