A freedom of Information request for Government files about the foot-and-mouth crisis has been turned down because it could "prejudice" relations between the Republic and Britain.
However, the decision by the FoI deciding officer in the Department of the Taoiseach is to be appealed to the Department and then to the Ombudsman, Mr Kevin Murphy, by the Fine Gael TD, Mr Paul Bradford.
Following discussions with Fine Gael, the deciding officer, Mr Gary Davis, searched through records of contacts between the Department of the Taoiseach and other Departments and the British and Northern Ireland authorities.
Extracts from a letter to the Cork East TD yesterday said: "The records you have requested contain references to the development of our policy on the spread of foot-and-mouth situation in the UK.
"I feel that the release of the records could prejudice the effective conduct of our relations with that country. I have considered the public interest in this matter, but feel that it would not be served by releasing records which could impact on our ability to communicate in confidence with our counterparts in the UK."
Last night Fine Gael said the reasons given for the refusal were "extraordinary".
