FOI applications drop by almost 50 per cent

The number of applications under the Freedom of Information Act (FOI) has plummeted by almost 50 per cent, it emerged today.

In the first three months of 2004, 687 applications were made across 13 Government departments, compared to 1,490 for the first three months of 2003, a reduction of 46 per cent.

Applications  fell in respect of every Government department, the figures show. In the Department of the Environment this year's figure was 29 per cent of the 2003 total, while in Transport it was 14 per cent and in the Taoiseach's Department only 13 per cent.

In April 2003, the Government introduced new measures to restrict FOI applications.

The Act was amended to delay the availability of Cabinet papers from five to 10 years. The changes also introduced an up-front fee for applications. The Minister for Finance, Mr McCreevy, said as he introduced the ammendments that it was a "sensible and balanced package of measures being brought forward on the basis of five years of experience of operation of the Act".

Ms Joan Burton of the Labour Party, who obtained the figures in reply to parliamentary questions, said today the restrictions have had the affect "that Fianna Fáil and the PDs hoped of greatly reducing the flow of information to the public under the FOI Act".

"The Freedom of Information Act was introduced by the Rainbow Government to ensure greater openness and to guarantee access to information to which the public is entitled, Ms Burton added.

"Fianna Fail was always unhappy with this approach and wasted little time in introducing legislation designed to undermine the original Act."

Green Party spokesperson on finance, Mr Dan Boyle, said we were "now seeing the fruits of this 'ask no questions' approach by the Government - a Government that is growing ever distant from the voters and wishing to avoid accountability at any level."