Freedom of Information Act should cover Gardaí, Central Bank, Nama: Commissioner

The Information Commissioner has recommended that An Garda Siochána, the Central Bank and Nama, among other public bodies, be covered by the Freedom of Information Act.

At the launch of the Commission's report, Emily O'Reilly urged the Government to follow through with its commitment to reform the Freedom of Information Act.

She said the exclusion of financial bodies from the scope of the Act was denying the public its right to get to the truth about what went wrong in the economy.

The number of FOI requests has gone up steadily since the beginning of the recession. There was a dramatic increase in requests to the Department of Social Protection, with 859 in 2010, up 54% on 2009.

Information Commissioner Emily O'Reilly has strongly criticised the removal of certain public bodies from the remit of the FOI without previous consultation.

Last year, the Medical Bureau for Road Safety was removed from the scope of the Act without notifying the Information Commissioner.