Four out of every five applications for access to public records under the Freedom of Information Act are granted in whole or in part, according to an official report circulated yesterday.
The second report to the Oireachtas of the operation of the Act, published by the Minister of State for Finance, Mr Martin Cullen, suggested public awareness of the legislation was growing.
A number of bodies, including FAS, Forfas, IDA Ireland, the National Standards Authority and Udaras na Gaeltachta, are due to come under the scope of the Act within six months. They are to be joined later by universities, institutes of technology and some other third-level institutions.