Speech
Minister McGrath's Opening Statement - Motion on Freedom of Information
From Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform
Published on
Last updated on
From Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform
Published on
Last updated on
**Check Against Delivery **
I welcome the opportunity afforded by this Private Members’ motion to discuss Ireland’s Freedom of Information or FOI system. I wish to move the following government amendment - to delete all words after “transparency in public life;” and substitute the following which I will put on the record of the House. Our amendment:
“notes that:
- The objective of Freedom of Information legislation is to ensure openness and transparency around the conduct of the business of public bodies and to enable members of the public to obtain access to their personal information.
- In broad terms, indications are that Ireland’s FOI system is functioning well. The number of FOI requests dealt with by relevant bodies increased from approximately 15,000 in 2010 to over 41,000 in 2019.
- The FOI regime covers a wide range of sectors including Government Departments, State Bodies, the Health Service Executive, Voluntary Hospitals, Mental Health Services, Third Level Institutions and Local Authorities. The 2014 Freedom of Information Act provides that FOI applies to an entity by default where it meets certain criteria.
- In 2020, even as every individual and organisation in the country was significantly impacted by the pandemic, 32,652 FOI requests were processed by public bodies.
- Approximately four out of every five FOI requests were granted in full or in part, which is broadly in line with previous years. Over half of the requests processed are for individuals’ personal information.
- Review mechanisms are available for those who are not satisfied with the FOI decision received. Internal reviews, those conducted at a more senior level on a particular request with the relevant public body, account for about 3% of requests in most years. Independent review by the Information Commissioner are sought in about 1% of cases annually.
- There is scope to improve and strengthen the FOI regime. The Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform announced in June 2021 that his Department will undertake a comprehensive and careful review of the Freedom of Information Act. The review will :
• consider the experience of all stakeholders;
• take account of the transformation in the manner in which people seek, consume and interact with information since the 2014 Freedom of Information Act;
• review international good practice and developments; and
• consult with The Office of the Information Commissioner and other key stakeholders in the data/information space.
- A consultation on the scope of the review will take place later this year, with further consultations to be undertaken in 2022.
- While it is intended that the scoping consultation will determine the key themes of the review, the interaction between the FOI legislation, Data Protection legislation, and records management requirements will be considered as part of the review. “
I think that all members of this House are in general agreement that principles of openness, transparency and accountability should be at the core of government and public administration. The FOI system is one key element of this broader movement, and I am glad to have the opportunity today to reflect on the operation of the FOI system, as well as the challenges facing us as we move forward.
In June 2021 – well before the recent controversy - I announced that a thorough and comprehensive review of the Freedom of Information Act and related issues would be undertaken by my Department. The approach to the review is currently being finalised. I expect that my Department will shortly publish a roadmap setting out the process and details of how anyone who is interested can get involved.
It has now been almost 7 years since the 2014 Freedom of Information Act was enacted. Indeed, it is now almost a quarter century since the FOI model first became a firmly established part of Irish public administration.
When we think of the kinds of changes that have occurred in the intervening time in how people seek out and interact with information, and the rise of the internet and the “information society”, it is clear to me that a review at this point is timely.
At the time that FOI was first introduced, it was fairly unusual for households in this country to have a home computer or internet access. Now, the majority of us carry around smart phones in our pocket, giving us fingertip access to a world of information that could only have been dreamt of in 1997.
Undoubtedly these developments present challenges to the FOI model, which was devised to deal with an operating environment where record-keeping was paper based and relatively discreet, rather than the proliferation of hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of electronic records generated on a daily basis across the civil and public sector, scattered across various devices and servers.
These issues go far broader than just the FOI access mechanism, taking in knowledge management and record management in a more general sense.
Work has been ongoing in my Department, particularly in the Office of the Government Chief Information Officer, to support an approach to data and IT systems that is suitable for the modern world. In addition, a record management plan for the public sector is being developed as part of the Data Strategy to provide a baseline for the constant improvement of the handling and use of information in the public sector.
However, despite such challenges, in general terms I am satisfied that the overall the FOI system is operating well. My Department monitors the operation of the legislation on an ongoing basis. The figures are striking.
The 2014 Freedom of Information widened the scope of FOI to take in approximately 600 bodies.
Between 2014 and 2019 the number of FOI requests processed across the civil and public service roughly doubled, to over 41,000 requests processed in 2019.
The 2014 Act removed the application fee for making an FOI request. In addition, no application or search and retrieval fee applies for requests or reviews that involve requests for personal information. As such, no fee whatsoever applies at any stage in relation the approximately 60% of FOI requests in most given years that involve individuals seeking their personal information.
In 2020, clients of public sector bodies made up by far the largest single grouping of requesters, at 50% of the overall total, while journalists made up 23% of requesters.
A range of supports are in place for the implementation of FOI across the civil and public service. My Department maintains a range of guidance documents and manuals, while the Office of the Information Commissioner also has issued guidance on the correct interpretation of the legislation.
In addition, my Department has put in place a standardised training framework that all bodies can draw on in meeting their FOI obligations. Over 7,000 public sector employees have received training under the framework from its first introduction in 2015 to date.
Independent review by the Commissioner and his expert staff is the key oversight of FOI decision-making standards. In 70% of cases in which the Commissioner issued a formal decision, the approach taken by the public body was affirmed as having correctly applied the legislation.
I therefore believe that while there is scope for improvement and modernisation, overall the FOI system is operating well, providing a solid footing from which to move forward.
However, I acknowledge that while these statistics allow us to understand at a glance the basic outline of the FOI system, standing alone they are not sufficient. Indeed, the figures themselves suggest issues that may require further examination, such as whether there is a case for refining the system in certain areas, such as the large number of requests for personal information from the health sector and bodies such as the Department of Social Protection.
It is for reasons such as this that I have directed my officials to commence a review process that will involve a thorough and systematic approach to gathering information and views from all across the FOI system.
The review process will allow an opportunity for stakeholders across the system, from public bodies and FOI Officers, to journalists, academics and activists, as well as the public, to have their say and provide their input as we try to map out the future of FOI and public sector transparency more generally.
My firm belief is that we should be seeking to promote a collaborative approach not only to the review process, but also to “doing transparency” more broadly.
We should recognise that all stakeholders, from the public sector to the media, academia, activists and interest groups, as well as individual requesters, have a role to play in delivering effective and meaningful state transparency for the Irish public, and must work together to achieve that goal.
In that same spirit, I would again take this opportunity to encourage everyone with a view on the FOI system and how it might be improved, to take the upcoming opportunity to make their voices heard so that we can improve the system and ensure that it is fit for purpose in the modern world.
Go raibh maith agaibh.
ENDS