Freedom from Freedom of Information Act?

[D-Day]

I recently submitted a request under the Freedom of Information Act to the Department of the Taoiseach. I requested information relating to the agreements reached between Fianna Fail and the Independent TD's during the formation of the current government.

I believe this information should be made public, because it involves the spending of money that was collected through the taxation of me and others, and it also involves other policy decisions by the current government.

I received a reply stating that this information is exempt from the Freedom of Information Act. The FOI officer highlighted this section of the FOI Act:

Under Interpretation, section 2.

"exempt record" means --

(b) a record that is created for or held by an office
holder and relates to the function or activities of --

(i) the office holder as a member of the
Oireachtas or a political party, or
(ii) a political party.

How is this possible in the year 2007? Who would argue that this is a democratic situation? How can fiscal conservatives tolerate this? How can progressives tolerate this?

It's amazing that this situation exists, and that there is not more public opposition to it. It does not matter what party a person is, or if there in any party at all. Surely people have the right to know how their tax money is being spent, and what policies their government is planning?

[Citizen]

Last Government gutted the FoI Act. One brave voice in officialdom pointing this out is the Ombudsman and Information Commissioner Emily O'Reilly. She also highlights the loopholes that arise as Government hives off government-type powers to bodies like the EPA etc (she says there are hundreds of them) and carefully avoids extending the FoI Act to cover their records. We could do with cloning Emily. But that is maybe for another thread? As is the notion that the Government continues to draw the same pay as it does less and less. Needs to concentrate fulltime on getting re-elected

The refusal reason given to you looks challengeable. The records you seek may on one (excessively narrow IMHO) interpretation be created for party political purposes or in the capacity of the people concerned as Oireachtas members. But the agreements are regarded by all parties to them as binding on the participant FF members in their capacity as members of the Government. Only the Government can deliver on the commitments they contain. There goes the refusal ground.

Appeal the refusal all the way up to Emily if you have to and let us know how you get on.

[D-Day]

the reply doesn't qualify what's fair game in this.

for example, can we make issues of military strategy and national security part of a deal to form government, therefore excluding it from public knowledge?

or, what about other deals. hypothetically speaking, what if bertie nominates jackie healy-rae's son to senate? could that be part of the written deal?

interesting that Lowry's deal seems to be only worth 27 million, while others imply that their deals are worth much more.