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THE SECRETARY OF the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) has said that amendments to the new Freedom of Information Bill, proposed by Minister Brendan Howlin’s department, “run contrary to the spirit of the bill”.
The amendments were published on Friday and contain changes that could see charges for requests soar. This includes proposals to split one request for information from different divisions of the same body into separate requests, charging €15 for each. The amendments also propose to assess the cost based on how much work a public body has to put into finding and compiling the information requested.
While the bill has been praised for opening all public bodies up to requests, there is now concern that these amendments, if approved, could undermine the work done to broaden Freedom of Information legislation in this country.
‘Unaffordable’
Seamus Dooley. Secretary of the NUJ, said it has always been the union’s position that there should be no fees for FOI.
“In terms of what was announced on Friday, the concern is that the government has honoured what it said by extending the scope but is undermining that by making costs prohibitors,” he told TheJournal.ie. Dooley said there is a “danger that FOI will become unaffordable”
The other major concern, and we’ll be reviewing it this week, is that there doesn’t appear to be any transparent system of accountability as to how the charges are set.
He added that the proposals had been “unexpected” and had not been discussed in the “extensive consultation” the Oireachtas Finance Committee had on the issue.
Labour TD Ciarán Lynch, who is chair of the committee, said that while he had not read the amendments yet, he believes that “in cases of genuine public interest, fees should be set at a minimum”.
“I think the minister, when he comes before the committee, has to give clarification as o how this will actually be administrated,” he said. He added that amendments should “neither hinder nor be detrimental to the intent of the bill” and that all of these issues would be discussed when the committee sits this coming week.
Killing FOI
Journalist Gavin Sheridan commented that if these amendments are passed, “Freedom of Information is dead”.
In a post on The Story, he said:
The legislation was gutted in 2003 and it is being gutted again. More generally the number of requests from journalists from all news organisations in Ireland will fall as a result of these amendments, and the resulting efforts to shine a light on the administration of the State will certainly deteriorate. And secrecy will prevail.
“A cynic would suggest these changes were well considered in advance and are being introduced at the end of the process in order to sneak them in,” he said.
Amendments were also tabled by Sinn Féin, Fianna Fáil and independent TD Stephen Donnelly and they will all be considered this week.
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Any journalists out there to ask a few hard questions at all. We need Vincent Browne back
@what about pension who paid tax a prsi all there life
@Tony Gleeson: Who is doing anything about the Bonkers Pension System inflicted on people who only get a percentage of the 12 euro introduced in the budget together with living with a reduced contributory pension
Wow MM doesn’t have a fig roll with the 11 o clock coffee, riveting. Strange comments are closed on the fact genocide joey is adamant the world is dragged to the presipice of WW3 & he wants Europe & NATO involved too……… Surely there’s some in the democrats that’ll stop this escalation until 20th Jan when an actual President with a mandate takes control
@Kevvy kerrr: frightening developments for sure!! People talk about the ‘dawn’ of peace but it’s worth remembering it’s always DARKEST just before the dawn
@Frank Mc Carthy: Where is this magic phone call? He said he wouldn’t even have to be in office.. would have it sorted in 24 hrs he said. Why is The President of Peace leaving all this unnecessary death and destruction to happen when he has the power to make it stop with one phone call.. Ohh.. that’s right cause he’s full of siht just like you Ken..
@Brian: brenny, you’re aware the INAUGURATION OF PEACE isn’t until jan20th right?????
@Frank Mc Carthy: wasting time there Frank, thats one of brennys “new” stock
@Brian: The Maga crowd have gone nuts since election day. You’d imagine a dog would calm down once it finally caught it’s tail. But no; they’re rabid.
@Louis Jacob: ” Before I even arrive at the Oval office.. shortly after we win the presidency, I will have the horrible conflict between Russia and Ukraine settled” Poor Ken, Frank, Kevvy, Buster etc… cant even keep up with the B/S his “president of peace” spouts. We have to wait until inuargation now apparently for the magic phone call.. lol
@Brian: His low brow followers will believe anything!
But he’s definitely taking the biscuit
@Nigel Hayden: that developers money was accidentaly lodged into the private bank account of his wife!
Jammie dodgers.
Everyone knows elderly lizards don’t eat biscuits.
@Freda Peeple: who paid the bill today
@Alan Moloney: Expenses I guess
Here we go again another cycle of lies and empty promises to get elected. Also can anyone tell me if an escalated war breaks out in the Ukraine involving does the American election result get canned in favour of an emergency govt seeing as we can’t comment on a man with obvious dementia steering the world towards WW3 The yanks are the best ever at starting wars on other sovereign territories
@Michael McGrath: NO there’s no ‘canning’ the overwhelming victory for republican party…… scary that jan20th is now so far away…. fingers crossed Joe’s last throw of the ‘dice’ doesn’t lead to thousands more unnecessary deaths
@Michael McGrath: Jesus, the well is deep, and the conspiratorial thinking fashionable.
@Louis Jacob: No it’s not it was mentioned by a lot of people a while back maybe in the context that the election might be cancelled if the conflict was escalated to NATO countries, I was just asking the question if it was a possibility that it could happen now considering that’s quite an escalation the US president telling the leader of another country to attack another with weapons “given” to them by the US
Poor lad fair play no diabetes so
Politicians would say mass to get elected… When elected, they reveal they were atheists the whole time.
Lads I’m scared that Joe B…..x is going start Nuclear WW3 as he clearly isn’t thinking straight about the consequences and Kamala must have fell out with him after the post election
RTEs Miriam o callaghans brother with him you couldn’t make it up wonder what way will the RTE debate go!!!!!!!!!!
@Kevin O Brien: my money is on whoever have the 750€ Million windfall to RTE will get an easy ride of it,lol
Porridge is not a healthy breakfast, it’s a sugar rush, bacon is a highly processed food full of chemicals
@Bertie: oats are slow release energy…you know you tube is not a good source of info…I have 2 dieticians in family btw
@Bertie: Porridge is a very healthy breakfast. If you add sugar that is your choice. Honey is better and bacon if lean is also very health. Our meat unlike say the US is not full of chemicals.
That is what I have learned from dieticians!
Wow, that’s one piece of PR Propaganda by this journalist. O Callaghan being given a free ride by the Media. Any journalists have the balls to ask O Callaghan why he turned down a Junior Ministry offered by Micheal & why he is going for election again if he is turning down Ministries. The lies & empty promises are pissing people off at this stage, don’t vote any of these frauds in, use your vote as a protest & for radical change, rather than putting a man who has been at the top table for 17 years, being Taoiseach & Tanaiste, bankrupted the country & denied bailing out banks & has left us with a massive Housing crisis, Rental crisis, Cost of Living crisis, Health crisis, Immigration crisis, a mess & working families barely surviving, the guy should be in jail.
@SV3tN8M4: more of your propaganda nonsense – it is a news report on todays FF election campaign – you know, basic stuff about who was there, where they were, who they met, questions asked, answers given……blah blah blah
@SV3tN8M4: I’ve e mailed Jim O Callaghans personal secretarys numerous times as to how many days Jim has signed into the Dail, and then has left to practice as barrister in the high court? They have refused to answer me. Could any journalist ask him this please?
@Michael o connor: You can get the details from Dail Eireann!
What FF need to do is put money in the working man wallet is that two hard to do after Al the country is a washout with money
Why are FFG not making BOI pass on the ECB interest rate cuts to variable mortgage holders is it because the bank lobbyist is an x fine gael Man
No ! But he’s been taking the biscuit for the last 30 years
Couldn’t afford the jammiest dodgers once all that developers money was taken back out of the personal bank account of his wife?
Me’Hole Martin hasn’t told the truth in 30 years and longer!
Wow these vampires know how to stay in the shade while they suck the citizens dry
How could you trust, let alone vote for, a yoke that doesn’t even ate a bickey?
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