Freedom of Information requests up 18% last year

The number of requests made under the Freedom of Information Act increased by 18% last year, according to figures from the Information Commissioner.

Emily O'Reilly says more than 12,500 requests were made in 2008, representing the first annual increase since 2005.

Some 15% of the queries were made by journalists, some of which led to the revelations about practices at FÁS.

Ms O'Reilly says curiosity about the causes of the economic downturn may explain particularly large increases in requests to the Department of the Taoiseach, the Department of Finance and the Department of Enterprise.