Annual Report 2008 - Text

Statutory Notices Issued by Ministers / Secretaries General (2008)

The FOI Amendment Act of 2003 introduced provisions whereby certain records could be removed from the scope of the FOI Act by means of certification by a Minister of the Government or by a Secretary General of a Department. The relevant provisions are contained in sections 19, 20, and 25 of the FOI Act which also provide that a report specifying the number of such certificates issued must be forwarded to my Office.

Section 19

Section 19 is a mandatory exemption which protects any record relating to the Government or Cabinet. The definition of Government was amended by the 2003 Act to include a committee of officials appointed by the Government to report directly to it and certified as such by the written certification of the Secretary General to the Government.

I have been informed by the Secretary General to the Government that no section 19 certificates were issued by him in 2008.

Section 20

Section 20 of the Act is a discretionary exemption which may protect certain records relating to the deliberative processes of a public body. In the case of a Department of State, the Secretary General will issue written certification to the effect that a particular record contains matter relating to the deliberative processes of that Department. Where such a certificate is issued, the record specified cannot be released under the FOI Act. In effect, the exemption becomes mandatory. Any such certificate is revoked in due course by the issue of written certification by the Secretary General.  

Having consulted with each Secretary General, my Office has been informed that no new section 20 certificates were issued during 2008.

I have been further informed that the certificate under section 20 issued by the Secretary General of the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform on 11th August 2006 and referred to in previous Reports has not been revoked in line with the provisions of section 20 (1A) (b). Therefore it remains in force. I attach a copy of the notification at Appendix I to this Report.

Section 25

Where a Minister of the Government is satisfied that a record is an exempt record either by virtue of section 23 (law enforcement and public safety) or section 24 (security, defence, and international relations), and the record is of sufficient sensitivity or seriousness to justify doing so, that Minister, by issuing a certificate under section 25(1), may declare the record to be exempt from the application of the FOI Act. Each year, the Minister(s) in question must provide my Office with a report on the number of certificates issued and the provisions of section 23 or section 24 of the FOI Act which applied to the exempted record(s). I must append a copy of any such report to my Annual Report for the year in question.

Having consulted with each Secretary General, my Office has been informed that no new section 25 certificates were issued by any Minister during 2008. The certificate renewed by the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform ("the Minister") on 11th July 2007, as referred to in my Annual Report for 2007, remains in force. Additionally, I have been informed that the Minister has, on 20th February and 14th March 2008 respectively, renewed two existing section 25 certificates for a further two years. I attach a copy of the notification from the Secretary General at Appendix I to this Report.

I was notified by letter dated 24th March 2009 that, pursuant to section 25(7) of the FOI Act, the Taoiseach, the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment and the Minister for Finance, having reviewed the three certificates (one renewed in 2007 and two renewed in 2008) that were in operation for the year ended April 2008, were satisfied that it was not necessary to request the revocation of any of the three certificates in question. I attach a copy of the notification at Appendix II to this Report.

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