The Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform Michael McGrath (pictured) has announced plans for a review of the Freedom of Information Act (FOI).

Speaking yesterday (17 June) at an event organised by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform (DPER) on the future of FOI in Ireland, the minister said that the review would be “collaborative”, and would take account of the views of the public sector, academia, activists, journalists, and other stakeholders, as well as the general public.

The legislation gives citizens the right to access records held by public bodies. The number of requests submitted in 2019 was double that of 2014.

'Working well'

Minister McGrath said that, while the evidence suggested that the system was working well, it was now time to look at how we might find better ways of achieving transparency in public administration.

The Government said that further details of the review, including calls for submissions and consultations, would be announced “in due course”.

The DPER event was chaired by Information Commissioner Peter Tyndall, who makes decisions on FOI appeals. He recently announced that he would be retiring later this year.