Information Commissioner Emily O'Reilly has criticised the continuing exclusion of the Garda Síochána from the scope of Freedom of Information (FoI) legislation.
Ms O'Reilly said Ireland was "out of kilter" with other developed countries which have included their police forces under FoI-type legislation.
With the Garda Ombudsman having opened for business this month, now was "the perfect time" for it and the Garda Síochána to come under the FoI Act.
"Police forces across the UK have been under FoI since January 2005 and I am not aware of this inclusion having any negative effect on the ability of those forces to properly carry out their policing functions," she said, speaking at the presentation of her annual report for 2006.
A recent survey showed that Ireland was alone among 26 countries in excluding its police force from this type of legislation.
The commissioner also expressed concern that a number of other public bodies of "considerable significance" continue to be excluded from the Act. These include the Vocational Education Committees, the Central Applications Office, the Adoption Board, the Personal Injuries Assessment Board, the Irish Red Cross, the Office of the Refugee Appeals Tribunal and the Irish Financial Services Regulatory Authority.
The Government continued to make changes to the FoI Act without consulting or even notifying her office, she noted.
For example, a clause in the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005 removed enforcement records of the Health and Safety Authority from the scope of the legislation.
She described as disappointing and disheartening the manner in which an Oireachtas committee reviewed the secrecy provisions of the FoI Act. Its report last year rejected all her recommendations in favour of the stance taken by the Ministers for Finance and Health without providing any reasons for its decision, she said.
Other issues of concern raised by the commissioner in her fourth annual report include:
• the continuing exclusion of school inspection reports from the scope of the Act;
• statistics which suggest the Civil Service takes a more restrictive approach to providing access to information than other sectors covered by FoI;
• a lack of co-operation from the Department of Justice which resulted in the commissioner issuing three enforcement notices last year requiring it to produce information;
• the negative impact on FoI usage of up-front fees, particularly the €150 charge for appeals to her office; and
• poor records management by some public bodies which made it more difficult to search for records
Ms O'Reilly repeated her call for fees to be brought into line with other jurisdictions which either do not charge or have a nominal fee: "Freedom of information is a vital tool of a functioning democracy and ought not be shackled by undue costs."
