BackThe Information Commissioner and Commissioner for Environmental Information, Peter Tyndall, launched his Annual Report for 2013, on Wednesday 7 May 2014; the sixteenth since the founding of the Office in 1998.
This is the first Annual Report of the Information Commissioner following his appointment by President Michael D. Higgins in December 2013.
The Commissioner:
- Notes a 29% increase in the number of reviews completed in 2013, compared to 2012.
- Anticipates a significant increase in demand for his Office's services due to the FOI Amendment Bill and the extension of the Act to all public bodies, including bodies such as the Central Bank of Ireland, NAMA, the NTMA and An Garda Síochána.
- Reports on actions taken by his Office to improve performance.
- Comments on the issue of compliance by public bodies and their obligations under the FOI Act.
Key decisions made in 2013 include:
- Records relating to the inquiry known as the Drogheda Review were found to be ‘held’ by the Department of Health for FOI purposes. The Commissioner’s decision was appealed to the High Court by the Department.
- Garda records are not exempt from release as a class on the ground of confidentiality regardless of content; in this case, a record held by the Department of Justice and Equality on an applicant’s immigration file.
- The release of certain records relating to Cabinet meetings that took place more than 10 years before the receipt of the request (the so-called 10 year rule).
- The Commissioner found that the Department of Finance was justified in refusing access to letters sent by the President of the European Central Bank, Jean-Claude Trichet, to the then Minister for Finance in 2010.
- A decision by the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, to refuse access to certain records relating to the export of aviation parts was upheld.
Part II of the Annual Report for 2013 relates to the Commissioner’s separate role as Commissioner for Environmental Information. It focuses on decisions made by his Office on appeals under the Access to Information on the Environment (AIE) Regulations 2007 to 2011.
To see the full press release and the 2013 report, please visit the website of the Information Commissioner.
Source: Office of the Information Commissioner, Ireland
