42% drop in FoI applications shows fees must be cut – Bruton: Fine Gael News

Fine Gael National Press Office Press Release

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Leinster House	Contact:	Richard Bruton TD
Dublin 2	Nick Miller	Deputy Leader /
Ireland	086 6992080	Finance

 
 

Tuesday 28th October 2008

 
 

42% drop in FoI applications shows fees must be cut - Bruton

 
 

FF fostering a culture of secrecy at the heart of the State

The 42% drop in Freedom of Information (FoI) applications since Fianna Fáil imposed fees shows the urgent need for the scheme's punitive fees to be slashed, Fine Gael Deputy Leader & Finance Spokesman Richard Bruton TD has said.

Speaking after the publication of the Tenth Report by the Minister of Finance on Freedom of Information, Deputy Bruton said there were 7,739 fewer FoI applications last year than in 2003, when fees were imposed by Fianna Fáil.

"When Fianna Fáil started charging for FoI applications it had an immediate impact on the number of applications, which dropped by 7,739, or 42%, between 2003 and 2007. The Information Commissioner has said this significant reduction is due to the introduction of fees.

"On several occasions the Commissioner has called for a review of the scale and structure of FoI charges. The Freedom of Information scheme was created in order to foster a culture of openness and transparency. Yet Fianna Fáil's ill-advised decision to impose fees has seriously damaged the scheme and its effectiveness. The Government's repeated claim that the fees discourage spurious applications is bogus and undermines the spirit in which the Act was created. It reinforces the perception that Fianna Fáil is fostering a culture of secrecy at the heart of the State.

"In terms of the eight countries that operate FoI schemes like the Irish one, Ireland is one of only two jurisdictions to charge for an appeal. However, the Canadian State of Ontario charges just €16 for an appeal, compared to €150 in Ireland.

"In 2005 the Oireachtas Finance and Public Service Committee met with the Information Commissioner to assess the impact of fees on the FoI Act. The Committee wrote to the Finance Minister advising him that the fees were excessive and asked him to have 'the matter addressed by way of legislation at the first available opportunity'. The Minister ignored the request, and three years later the regime is as punitive as ever.

"Fianna Fáil has also ignored repeated calls for the FoI Act to be extended to a swathe of bodies which are currently not covered, including An Garda Síochána, the Central Applications Office (CAO), the Adoption Board, the State Claims Agency, the Central Bank and the Financial Services Authority. The Information Commissioner has said there is no reason for these Bodies not to be included in the FoI Act."

 
 

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