UCC instructed to provide details of support received from Apple

University College Cork has been instructed by the information commissioner to provide details of support it has received from Apple.

The Office of the Information Commissioner (OIC) has ruled that the response of the university was inadequate to a request made under freedom of information legislation and ordered it to reconsider the request for such information.

A transparency organisation, Right to Know, sought details of all contributions which UCC had received either directly or indirectly from Apple to research projects since January 2011 under the Freedom of Information Act.

The university failed to issue a decision within a four-week deadline stipulated under the legislation and also did not respond within the same timeframe when Right To Know appealed the original refusal.

UCC only informed the group after it had sought a review by the OIC that it was refusing the request on the basis that its accounting system did not record the requested information on Apple.

It also claimed that it was refusing the request on the basis that conducting other searches would cause a substantial and unreasonable disruption to its work.

The OIC said it was clear that UCC’s searches for the requested information had fallen well short of what was required under FOI legislation.

The OIC said the fact the university had also relied on a section of legislation that related to time spent on searching for information indicated that UCC believed the relevant records might well exist.

It ruled that UCC’s efforts at simply running a search on its accounting system was not enough to satisfy the requirements of the FOI Act.

The information commissioner’s office said UCC had made no efforts to assist Right to Know with its request as it was obliged to do under the legislation.

It ordered the university to annul its initial ruling and consider the request for information on Apple afresh.

UCC can lodge an appeal against the OIC decision on a point of law to the High Court within four weeks.

Welcoming the decision, Right to Know said it was interested in finding out what support, financial or otherwise, Apple, as one of the largest employers in both Cork and Ireland, is giving to UCC.

It pointed out that the US technology giant was at the centre of one of the most significant state aid cases ever in the history of the EU after the European Commission ruled last year that Ireland should recover €13bn from Apple in illegally foregone taxes.

Right to Know spokesman, Gavin Sheridan, said the views of universities and academics are often reported without question as independent and objective.

“To maintain that reputation, transparency in respect of private funding is important so that the public can know what interests are at play,” said Mr Sheridan.

He stressed there is no indication that Apple exerted any influence on UCC but said that Right to Know feels it is important that any supports that were given to the university are known given the public controversy over the company’s operations in Ireland.