The Ombudsman, Ms Emily O'Reilly, has again criticised the introduction of fees for Freedom of Information (FOI) requests, saying fewer were being made as a consequence of the charges.
Issuing her first annual report since being appointed last June, Ms O'Reilly also published a separate report on the FOI issue today, indicating that since the changes to the act were made, overall applications had fallen by over 50 per cent, rising to 75 per cent for requests for non-personal information.
Requests by the media had fallen by 83 per cent in the past year "and still continues to decline", the report found.
Other users of the Act such as individuals, representative bodies, and businesses also showed a significant decline.
While criticising the amendments to the Act made by the Minister for Finance, Mr McCreevey in April 2003, her report found public bodies "appear to operate the Act in a fair and balanced manner".
"Subject to some caveats, there is no evidence to suggest that the amendment of the Act or the introduction of 'up front' fees has altered their behaviour in this respect," the report says.
Following the examination of 1,300 files in 37 public bodies, Ms O'Reilly concluded that the FOI requests went "far beyond what the Government had intended when it decided to introduce fees."
She called for a reassessment of the charges saying Ireland was out of line with international practice in relation to fees for decision reviews. She called for the €150 charge her office applies to reviews should reconsidered as a matter of priority.
She also criticised the Government for not consulting users of the Act and her own office about the amendments.
Ms O'Reilly issued a number of recommendations including a provision for waiving charges where the release of the records is in the public interest. Such a measure should be considered with particular reference to requests by members of the Oireachtas and the media.
Public bodies should ensure that information is released without obliging requesters to use FOI Act in the first instance, the report also advises.
The annual report also noted that the Department of Education and Science receives the largest number of requests. The increase was attributed to requests involving industrial schools and other state care institutions.