The Information Commissioner has said the names of staff of both the Department of Children and Equality and HIQA should be withheld from records because of a risk to their life and safety from the extreme right.
Under FOI, Right to Know had sought copies of correspondence between the International Protection Accommodation Service and HIQA about inspections of accommodation.
We were seeking to better understand conditions for residents, which are known to be very poor in some centres.
However, the Department of Children and Equality responded to neither our initial request nor our request for internal review.
The case ended up being reviewed by the Information Commissioner (OIC) meaning a decision was made for the first time on the now commonplace practice of exempting staff names under Section 32 of the FOI Act.
In the decision, the OIC said this exemption was not “commonly used” (which was true in the past but no longer is).
They said: “I am generally satisfied that serious incidents have occurred and that such incidents have raised concerns for the Department in respect of the release of staff information.
“It seems to me that valid concerns currently exist in respect of the behaviour of a cohort of individuals strongly opposed to the State’s approach to international protection applicants and the manner in which they are accommodated.”
The OIC said they were satisfied that the release of staff names – normally an obligation under the FOI Act – now “could endanger [their] life and safety.”
The DAA has been told it must reconsider its refusal to release a database of environmental expenditure to Right to Know.
Under the Access to Information on the Environment (AIE) Regulations, we had sought a record of purchase orders of greater than €20,000 for a single three month period last year.
The DAA initially accepted that some of the information was environmental but argued that the request was manifestly unreasonable.
They said there were 350 transactions involved, each of which would have to be examined to see if it was environmental and whether it were exempt from release.
The DAA said each of these individual checks would take thirty minutes but provided no further detail on how that figure was calculated.
Overall, they said it would take 212 hours – or 26.5 working days – to check just 350 entries.
They also said some of the information was commercially sensitive and that release of other transaction data could adversely affect public security by identifying contractors, particularly around cybersecurity.
The DAA later questioned whether the information was environmental at all, even though the Commissioner for Environmental Information had found it was in a similar Right to Know case.
The airport authority has now been told it must carry out a new internal review, providing more detail on why certain transactions are exempt from release, and a more thorough estimate of how long it would actually take to check the data.
Separately, Right to Know has lost a related case for information from Bord na Móna, which you can read here.
However, that was for a much longer period of time covering 2019 to 2022, which the CEI eventually decided was manifestly unreasonable.
The DAA request is much more targeted and covers just Quarter 3 of 2024.
As a footnote, such lists of purchase orders of greater than €20,000 are published as a matter of routine by all public bodies in the state.
The Department of Justice was warned a crackdown on undocumented immigrants would lead to more serious and high-risk criminals having to be given temporary release from jail.
The head of the Irish Prison Service (IPS) said a garda decision to bring charges against individuals arriving in Ireland without valid documents was contributing to “unsafe and unmanageable” levels of overcrowding.
In a letter to a senior department official, IPS Director General Caron McCaffrey said in normal circumstances, low risk offenders on short sentences were the first to be offered temporary release.
She said this would normally include those in custody for immigration offences but that the Department of Justice had made a deliberate policy decision to keep them in jail.
Ms McCaffrey said that while the move was “understandable,” it was adding to the immense pressure on the Irish prison system.
Her letter said: “[It] will unfortunately necessitate the early release of more serious and high-risk offenders to make space in already overcrowded prisons [instead of] offenders deemed to be low risk from a re-offending and community safety perspective.”
She said the Irish Prison Service was heading into a “catastrophic period” and that numbers in custody were reaching new highs every day.
The letter was sent in February of 2024 but was withheld by the Irish Prison Service under Freedom of Information laws until recent weeks.
Ms McCaffrey also asked for urgent changes in the operation of temporary release and what type of criminals it could be applied to.
She said if changes were not made, there was “real potential to result in violent disorder within our prisons threatening the safety and wellbeing of both our staff and those in our care.”
The Director General said the Irish Prison Service had exhausted all options around the temporary release (TR) of low-risk offenders.
She said the department needed to look at TR for “medium to high-risk sentenced offenders” which would have to apply to criminals including “prolific” burglars and individuals convicted of assault on gardaí or peace officers.
Ms McCaffrey called on the department to look at options for temporary release of sex offenders, especially those at low risk of offending.
Under existing rules, sex offenders are ineligible for TR and no change has been made to this policy since the letter was sent.
The Director General told the department: “It is recognised that this is a difficult category due to the victim issues and the fact that people convicted of a sex offence pose a low risk of very serious harm while other types of offenders pose a high risk of less serious harm.
“However, other categories being considered for temporary release as part of crisis measures pose a much greater risk to public safety.”
The prison boss said this was particularly relevant for historic convictions and older sex offenders, some of whom were “medically dependent” people and actively engaging in rehabilitation.
Ms McCaffrey also called for more flexibility around the use of ‘open prisons’ for long-serving prisoners.
Under existing rules, only those serving sentences of less than eight years could be transferred to an open centre like Loughan House or Shelton Abbey meaning spaces were not always being used in an optimal way.
She called as well for a reduction in the number of people being remanded to custody rather than granted bail.
Ms McCaffrey said there was a particular need for a bail supervision scheme for female offenders, with the country’s two women’s prisons in Dublin and Limerick operating above capacity.
She asked too that the department would press ahead with efforts for the reopening of the disused Curragh Prison on Defence Forces land in Co Kildare.
Her letter concluded: “Overall, we are in an extremely difficult situation that we anticipate will only get worse without urgent decisions being made.”
Construction on Leinster House’s controversial €336,000 bicycle shelter had to be paused after a large manhole was ‘discovered’ on site that was not spotted when drawing up site plans.
The OPW told contractors to stop work in the vicinity after “the uncovering of a significant piece of below ground drainage infrastructure” along with the two-foot-wide manhole.
A note of a site visit in August 2023 said the discovery meant the OPW would need to reexamine the structure of the bicycle shelter and whether any changes were needed.
It said: “Please now fully cordon off the area around manhole with barriers and place hazard warning signage to note associated risks. Please also notify all site operatives of this site exclusion zone.”
The delay caused angst within the Office of Public Works who said the entire summer recess of the Dáil had “now been missed” for carrying out works on the bicycle shelter.
An email said: “For context – in the past OPW were not permitted to work outside these recess periods and the flexibility on site has been hard won over the years by tight management and actively delivering projects.
“With increased security concerns and the visibility of these projects – this flexibility can be rescinded at any time by Leinster House.”
The message, sent in September 2023, said delivery of the bicycle shelter was now critical and sought urgent updates on progress.
They asked that contractors “confirm without further delay” how to deal with issues around the foundations and whether it would affect an adjoining wall.
The email said: “This needs to be fully resolved and instruction to start for Friday with the approved option so that ground works can start on Saturday.”
They also asked for an update on when granite would be delivered for the site and a final date for delivery of the bicycle shelter.
It said: “Fully completed bicycle shelter must be returned to Leinster House on 14th January [2024].”
Delays on the project continued however, and the bike shed was not available for use until several months later.
The records were only released following an appeal to the Information Commissioner under Freedom of Information laws.
The OPW had claimed they held no documents that dealt with either delays or cost overruns on the project but were told to reconsider that decision.
In an information note, they said the €336,000 project was covered under the “Maintenance and Minor Works Framework” for delivery of certain projects.
The note said: “[The framework] has the flexibility to accommodate stopping and starting of works based on (a) discovery of unknown issues on site and (b) operations of the Houses of the Oireachtas. “The [framework] allows for closure of site at short notice without incurring delay claims and costs for stoppages, which would be part of the standard public works contract.”
A group of people with disabilities who were invited to Leinster House to deliver training on accessibility ended up “trapped” and “embarrassed” after a lift broke down in the parliamentary complex.
The organisation, which provides disability awareness training, said they were “astonished” at how inaccessible Leinster House was after their disastrous visit to Dublin last year.
In an email, they described supposedly accessible toilets that weren’t large enough to cater for wheelchairs, buses being refused access to drop off people with mobility issues, and a broken-down lift that left five members “stranded.”
They told the head of the Oireachtas that members were stuck on a corridor and “very embarrassed” as able-bodied people had to “edge” their way past them on their way to offices or lunch.
A message said: “From the moment of our arrival, we encountered barriers and exclusion.”
The visit was made by members of the HSE Gold Star Disability Awareness Training programme and volunteers from Tipperary last June on the invitation of an Oireachtas member.
In the email, they said the room where they delivered their training session was inaccessible on “a number of disability access levels.”
Then, when members were trying to go downstairs to the restaurant, one lift broke down and another was discovered to be out of service.
The email said: “The lift to offer access to the lower corridor en route to the restaurant broke down when we had five people safely down, leaving others stranded at the top.
“Once these five people tried to continue to access the restaurant, they were met with a note on the second lift that said, ‘Temporarily Out of Order’.”
The message continued: “Every person there was tired, embarrassed, disappointed, hungry and let down once more in terms of their rights to universal access and the dignity of using a toilet privately.”
The IDA said Ireland was losing ground to other EU countries and the United States because of the high cost of energy.
In a series of briefings for the government, the investment agency said strong security of power supply was “imperative” for enticing companies into Ireland.
It said the operating environment for foreign direct investment was becoming more difficult, more aggressive, and with a “relentless focus on competitiveness.”
The IDA briefing said that traditional drivers of investment like market access, tax, and talent were still important.
However, it added: “New drivers such as digital/green, subsidies/incentives, and friendly nation status make the environment more complex.
“Adding to the challenge for IDA in sustaining/winning investments are constraints to the carrying capacity of Ireland’s economy and utilities – which are causing significant delay, backlogs and reputation risks to winning new investments.”
The briefings were prepared last summer for the Department of the Environment as the investment agency warned Ireland’s financial position was heavily dependent on foreign direct investment (FDI).
The Rotunda Hospital has been told to make a new decision about documents on a property they purchased after it emerged they quoted extracts from the Freedom of Information Act that do not exist.
Right to Know had been looking for records on a property bought by the hospital at Cavendish Row in Dublin.
At internal review, the Rotunda refused access to the records using ‘Section 30’ of the FOI Act.
However, the text they used appears nowhere in the legislation, and its source is unknown.
A decision from the Information Commissioner (OIC) said: “The FOI body’s reference to exemption provisions which do not appear within the FOI Act serves to fundamentally undermine its position.”
During the review, it also emerged that despite repeated requests for a focused submission, the Rotunda did not respond to the OIC.
A former senior executive at Ryanair called for an “immediate prohibition” on any new management consultancy contracts for the HSE.
Michael Cawley, the ex-deputy CEO of the airline, said €70 million had been spent on these contracts in 2024 and a “detailed report on the benefits, if any” of that spending should be provided.
In an email to colleagues and the chief executive of the HSE, Mr Cawley – who serves on the HSE board – said that following an analysis of the health service budget, he had identified potential annual savings of up to €300 million.
Targets included the “over prescribing [and] excess supply” of some medications and properties that were lying idle.
He also said all letter correspondence should be eliminated and that patients, suppliers, and others be contacted via email or text.
Mr Cawley said that cutting costs would take people “out of their comfort zone” but that savings could be made while delivering better services to patients.
He wrote: “The reallocation of resources needs to become an everyday, core activity of the HSE. This can only happen if there is full unreasonable commitment from management.”
Asked about the email, which was sent in late January, a HSE spokesperson said: “This record must be understood as it was intended; suggestions by a board member for consideration by the CEO around a wide range of issues in relation to areas of potential cost savings. It must be noted that this does not constitute decisions.
“The welcome input from the board member was one of many engagements by the CEO as he sought inputs on areas to maximise savings across the health service.”
A community swimming pool that was expected to cost less than €13 million has already cost nearly €18 million and even though construction began in 2019, it is still not open.
The pool facility in Lucan in West Dublin has been dogged by delays with the final cost of the project now expected to rise to around €20 million.
When it was originally costed in 2017, South Dublin County Council expected the final bill to be around €12.985 million.
A project schedule from the time said that once the contract was awarded, it should only take fourteen months to construct.
However, the COVID-19 pandemic, severe weather, and a variety of other issues have seen the project go way beyond schedule with completion dates pushed back at least a dozen times.
A series of updates to queries from councillors show how the opening day for the swimming pool and leisure centre kept shifting.
In late 2020, a local representative was told the handover date was meant to be February 2021, but that this had been moved back to June 2021.
An update said: “The project has been significantly delayed due firstly to poor weather conditions in the early part of 2020 and then the enforced closure of the site for a number of weeks during the COVID-19 national lockdown.”
In late 2021, another councillor was given an update saying the completion date was now likely to be in April or May of 2022.
That date then got pushed to August 2022 though even that proved hopelessly optimistic.
Local Sinn Féin TD Eoin Ó Broin asked in January 2023 when the pool was likely to be open and was told June 2023 was now the target and that this was “very disappointing” to the council.
A letter to him said: “As you will be aware the project has been impacted significantly by various construction sector challenges.”
By last year, the project still wasn’t complete with councillors told in August 2024 that the local authority was still working with the contractor to “agree a revised programme.”
In February of this year, Deputy Eoin Ó Broin again sought an update and was told more resources were being provided to “expedite project completion.”
A letter to him said: “The council understands both the importance of this project to the local community and the frustration that the delays have caused.”
An update to councillors in January said: “Completion of the project continues to be challenging, primarily; as noted previously, due to contractor resources and sub-contractor availability.
“[We are] continuing to intensively manage the project and main contractor to achieve the earliest possible completion dates.”
South Dublin County Council had originally refused to provide details of how much they had so far spent on the project.
However, following an appeal under FOI laws, they disclosed that costs so far were €17.87 million, which included €15.7 million in payments to the main contractor.
Dublin Port Company has been told it must release documents it holds on discussions over payment of the vacant site levy to Dublin City Council.
Using Access to Information on the Environment (AIE) Regulations, Right to Know had sought copies of all correspondence between the port operator and the local authority about the levy, which is intended to bring idle land into use for housing.
Dublin Port Company said the records were not environmental but the Commissioner for Environmental Information (CEI) has ruled in our favour.
It’s a useful decision for anybody who is planning to make requests for information around planning, development land, dereliction, or land hoarding.
It also highlights again the usefulness of the AIE Regulations in accessing information from public bodies that are exempt from the FOI Act.
This includes most of the semi-state agencies like Coillte, Bord na Móna, the DAA, and the Irish Aviation Authority.
