Our maternity system FoI request delivers €600k price
In fact, the quote of €606,700 is “a very conservative estimate” if you take into account the average “30,335 hours” it would take to search and retrieve the relevant emails.
As maths equations go, this one is straightforward. The current FoI rate for search and retrieval is €20 per hour. The number of hours is 30,335. €20 x 30,335 = €606,700.
Not quite as obvious is how the man hours involved were calculated.
The request, would, it appears, involve a search of a “possible 50 email accounts which hold an estimated 150,000 emails”. It would mean those involved would be “unable to carry out their normal functions in a timely or effective manner” — Heaven forbid.
Nonetheless, there is a kind offer of further assistance should one wish to amend the scope of the request: For copies of all records bearing reference to the €35m maternal and newborn clinical management system and its rollout at Cork University Maternity Hospital (CUMH) and University Hospital Kerry; timeframe January 1 2016 to March 30, 2017. The request includes records with references to staff training, delays in rollout, escalating costs and teething problems. It also includes any reference to Deloitte involvement in the project and the cost thereof.
The HSE points out that a “significant number of clinical staff... and a large number of project staff... would be required to complete this request”.
Labour TD Brendan Howlin, who overhauled FOI legislation during his time as minister for public expenditure and reform, said the HSE’s response is “completely at odds with the spirit of the FoI Act”.
“It’s clear that the request would not unduly burden any one individual, and is a matter of public importance,” said Mr Howlin. “For such a critical project, it’s bizarre that the HSE cannot easily retrieve records despite the many managers that have been hired.”
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