GOVERNMENT RECORDS relating to the kidnapping and release of Goal aid worker Sharon Commins in Darfur are to be exempt from the Freedom of Information Act at the request of Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin.
Mr Martin has invoked Section 25 of the Freedom of Information Act, which allows - in strictly limited circumstances - for the determination by a Minister that records of an extremely sensitive or serious nature be exempt.
This is the first time the Department of Foreign Affairs has requested that Section 25 be applied.
"The Minister for Foreign Affairs is fully committed to transparency; however, this is an exceptional case," the department said in a statement.
Ms Commins and her Ugandan colleague, Hilda Kawuki, were released on October 18th after spending more than 100 days in captivity. The two women were seized by a gang of armed gunmen who stormed their Goal compound in the north Darfur town of Kutum in early July.
Several questions remain over the circumstances that led to their release.
From the outset, the Irish Government has said it did not pay a ransom. The Sudanese government has said the same. Goal has also insisted it did not hand over any money.
At several stages during the 107-day kidnapping, the gang holding the women made demands for large sums of money in exchange for their release.
Musa Hilal, an influential Darfuri tribal leader and government adviser who assisted in efforts to free the women at the request of Sudan's president Omar al-Bashir, claimed in an interview with The Irish Timesthat the kidnappers had received a ransom equivalent to €150,000 from the Sudanese government.
Sudan's minister for humanitarian affairs, Abdul Bagi al-Jailani, denied this but acknowledged that funds totalling about €44,000 were provided to "facilitate" the work of mediators and tribal chiefs working on the case.
In the statement yesterday, the Department of Foreign Affairs said: "Where kidnappings are concerned, the offer of sensitive intelligence by the security services, foreign governments and other intermediaries is often a key to ensuring a safe release.
"Outside parties are less willing to offer such a vital assistance if they believe that their communications can be disclosed or reviewed by an outside agency. This could impair the ability of the State to ensure the safety of Irish citizens in the future."
The statement added: "Given the nature of some of the queries received from the media, the Minister wishes to restate that no ransom was paid by the Government to obtain Ms Commins's release."
It is understood Section 25 of the Freedom of Information Act has not been invoked in relation to records associated with the kidnapping of Irish priest Fr Michael Sinnott in the southern Philippines.
The 79-year-old Columban missionary was released earlier this month after spending 32 days in captivity.