Information Commissioner in favour of publishing nursing home reports

The Information Commissioner, Emily O’Reilly, said today that the results of inspections of nursing homes and schools should be made routinely available to the public.

The commissioner's annual report also calls for greater transparency in the investigation of complaints by public bodies, especially concerning the care of older people.

Ms O’Reilly’s annual report for 2004 is also critical of a Supreme Court decision forbidding the publication of school inspector’s reports. The commissioner rejects claims that the release of these reports could lead to the compilation of league tables.

The number of applications for review made to the Information Commissioner fell by more than 60% last year, while the number of Freedom of Information requests made to public bodies also fell by about 30%. The report attributes this drop to the introduction of application fees for information.