Press release
Media Release: Annual Report 2023
From Office of the Information Commissioner (OIC)
Published on
Last updated on
37,437 FOI requests made to public bodies in 2023
The Information Commissioner, Ger Deering, has criticised the over reliance on external legal advisers by a small number of public bodies when responding to requests for access to records under the Freedom of Information Act.
In his annual report for 2023 , published today, [27 June] Mr Deering highlighted a growing trend by a small number of public bodies to ‘contract out’ their decision-making on FOI requests to external legal advisers. Mr Deering said that this trend was concerning as it can result in the public not being given access to records to the “greatest extent possible” as provided for under the FOI Act.
Mr Deering added:
“I have seen a number of cases where this practice has resulted in a public body using a broad range of exemptions to refuse an FOI request - some of which were tenuous at best.”
The Information Commissioner also highlighted instances where he was forced to issue formal notices to some public bodies after they failed in their obligation to supply him with the information he needed to review the body’s decision on an FOI request (a ‘section 45 notice’). A total of eight such notices were issued (up from six in 2022). Four notices were issued to Cork City Council in 2023 (details on page 27 of the annual report), with one each to Children’s Health Ireland, the Defence Forces, the Department of Health and Trinity College Dublin. In the case of TCD the Commissioner said he came close to issuing formal legal proceedings against the university.
In 2023 there were 37,437 FOI requests made to all public bodies, such as government departments, local authorities and voluntary hospitals. This is the highest number of requests made since 2019 (when 39,904 were received), and the second highest ever since the 2014 FOI Act.
| Public body | 2023 | Increase/decrease on 2022 | |
| HSE | 11,748 | +5% | |
| Dept. Social Protection | 2,468 | +18% | |
| TUSLA - Child & Family Agency | 1,333 | +19% |
The Office of the Information Commissioner received 665 applications to review decisions made by public bodies under the FOI Act in 2023 - mostly involving refusals of access to records.
| Public Body | 2023 |
| HSE | 104 |
| TUSLA - Child & Family Agency | 17 |
| Defence Forces | 17 |
| Dept. of Justice | 15 |
The Information Commissioner’s annual report 2023 describes some notable decisions made by his Office last year.
Dublin City Council and payments to property owners
(Page 38 of the Commissioner’s annual report)
In one case in 2023 the Information Commissioner directed Dublin City Council to release records of the payments the Council made to certain property owners in respect of providing accommodation under its rental accommodation schemes. The Commissioner found that as the landlords were ‘service providers’ to the Council, the release of their identities and the amounts they received would not involve a breach of a duty of confidence owed to them, nor would such release involve the disclosure of their personal information.
Revenue Commissioners and TV licence fee
(Page 50 of the Commissioner’s annual report)
In a separate case, the Information Commissioner directed the Revenue Commissioners to release records relating to its proposed role in the collection of the TV licence fee. Revenue had claimed a number of exemptions under the FOI Act, including that the records related to meetings of the Government, were submitted to Government, or contained information solely for use at a meeting of the Government.
Each of the decisions mentioned in the report include links to the full decision.
The Information Commissioner’s annual report for 2023 is available at www.oic.ie
