The number of requests to see State papers under the Freedom of Information Act has declined significantly since the Government restricted the scope of the legislation last April.
The decline has increased even more noticeably since new charges came into effect in July, according to details secured by Fine Gael yesterday.
Nearly 3,000 applications were received between January 1st and April 11th this year. However the number fell to 1,700 in the subsequent three months, and to just 1,060 between July and October.
Each application now costs €15, while search-and-retrieval and copying charges have multiplied. Appeals to the Information Commissioner, Ms Emily O'Reilly, now cost €150.
The Department of Finance's experience since the changes were made graphically illustrates the new landscape, as it has had to respond to 85 per cent fewer applications.
Last night, the Information Commissioner was called on to begin an immediate investigation on foot of her promise last July to monitor closely the impact of the changes.
The number of applications to the Department of Agriculture and Food has fallen by 61 per cent since April 11th, the date when the Freedom of Information (Amendment) Act came into force.
Agriculture and Food received 140 applications between January and April, but just 66 applications between April and July 6th. Since then, however, it has dealt with just 42.
The Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment has had a similar experience. Applications are down by 84 per cent. It received 77 applications in the first four months of the year. The number dropped to 49 between April and July. The Department, which had received a significant number of requests from business people, has received just 10 since then. The Department of Education and Science, which has been dealing with requests from former religious-run institutions, has seen a drop-off of 33.5 per cent, according to the Fine Gael leader, Mr Enda Kenny.
"The Government's policy of strangling the FOI Act has proved to be one of its few policy successes in the last 18 months. It has effectively applied a tourniquet to the flow of information."
Under questioning in the Dáil, the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, was dismissive of Opposition criticism: "It followed a review that took place, but we have been through all of that. In fact, I do not think there is any secrecy in all of this. Practically everything that is looked for from departments comes out.
"In some cases, information comes out when it should not. Sometimes it seems to be a race between freedom of information and information leaking in some other way, so I do not know what people are worrying about."
The National Union of Journalists reacted angrily to the disclosure. Mr Séamus Dooley, the NUJ's national organiser, said: "This is alarming. It is even worse that we would have expected. It confirms our worst fears that the amended legislation would be used as an excuse to refuse access to information and it shows up the Taoiseach's claim that this was a relatively minor administrative change."
Journalists, who last year filed just 16 per cent of all FOI applications, had ceased to use the Act because of the cost of applications and the restrictions on the type of information that could be released, Mr Dooley said.
"There is a change of attitude abroad, as well as extra expense. There was a time when departments released information generally because it was easier to do it that way than wait for the FOI application. That's gone."
