Large drop in FOI requests to the Irish Prime Minister

Large drop in FOI requests to the Irish Prime Minister

Freedom of Information requests to the head of government of the Republic of Ireland, the Taoiseach, have halved since the government tightened regulations and introduced fees.

Taoiseach Bertie Ahern told members of the lower chamber of the Oireachtas - the national parliament - that since the introduction in 2003 of a €15 fee for FOI requests, the 142 FOI requests received by his department that year fell to 45 in 2004 and 61 in 2005.

Questions about Taoiseach halved since rule change (Ireland Online, 7 February 2006)