O’Reilly criticises ongoing restrictions in FOI legislation

Information Commissioner Emily O'Reilly has published a report criticising the Government's failure to extend the remit of the Freedom of Information Act to cover all public bodies.

The report was presented last year to an Oireachtas committee conducting a regular five-year review of the legislation.

Ms O'Reilly said she was initially planning to withhold the document until the committee had concluded its review, but had decided to publish it today as it had already been leaked to the media.

The report welcomes a government promise to extend the Freedom of Information Act to 109 extra public bodies.

However, it also expresses concern that many more agencies will remain outside the remit of the legislation and says there appears to be no timeframe for their inclusion in the act.

The report says all public bodies should be covered by the legislation in order to promote transparency and accountability in the public sector.

In her introduction, Ms O'Reilly says it is difficult to see why this has not already happened given that the FOI Act contains strong protections that allow for the withholding of sensitive information.