Ireland and the Freedom of Information Act : Foi@15.

Cover -- Half-title -- Series information -- Title page -- Copyright information -- Table of contents -- List of figures and tables -- Notes on contributors -- Series editor's foreword -- Preface -- Acknowledgements -- Glossary -- Introduction -- 1 International trends in freedom of information -- Introduction -- The evolution of freedom of information in Ireland -- Necessary state secrecy -- Exemptions and exclusions -- FOI and parliamentary questions -- Better administration -- Government working papers -- Certified exceptions -- The Information Commissioner -- Use of FOI -- Conclusion -- Notes -- References -- 2 Two steps forward and one step back -- Introduction: Irish FOI provisions at a glance -- Explaining Irish political culture -- Seeding the secretive state: origins and influences -- What prompted change? -- Internal influences -- External influences -- Why the roll back? -- What prompts further change again? -- Conclusion -- Notes -- References -- 3 Freedom of information and national security -- Introduction -- Freedom of information and legitimate secrecy -- The Official Secrets Act 1963 -- Government by consent and citizen oversight -- Framing freedom of information and international influences -- International best practice: the Johannesburg Principles -- Reforming freedom of information and national security restrictions -- A balanced approach to national security restrictions? -- Conclusion -- References -- 4 Freedom of information and policing -- Introduction -- FOI and the Garda -- The Irish legislation examined -- International comparisons on FOI and policing -- United States of America -- United Kingdom -- Australia -- Conclusion -- Notes -- References -- 5 FOI and public trust in parliament -- Introduction -- Promoting public trust in parliament -- Providing public information about parliament.

The role of the Houses of the Oireachtas in public education about parliament -- The role of the media in public education about parliament -- Open government and open parliament -- Conclusion -- Notes -- References -- 6 Freedom of information and the media -- Introduction -- Letting in the light -- Impressions of the Act -- The failure of precedent -- Unsuccessful attempt to tap into precedent -- Inconsistencies with other sources of information -- Conclusion -- References -- 7 A glass half-full or half-empty? -- Introduction -- Making a request under FOI -- The Information Commissioner: citizens' champion? -- Citizens' use of FOI -- Examining citizen use of FOI -- Personal FOI requests -- Understanding and awareness of FOI -- Reasons for making requests -- Experiences of using FOI -- Lessons learned -- Non-personal FOI requests -- Conclusion -- Notes -- References -- 8 Reflections on freedom of information -- Introduction -- Eithne FitzGerald -- Ending the culture of secrecy: what we wanted to achieve when we introduced the original FOI legislation -- Improving decision-making -- Policy failure -- Empowering citizens in their dealings with the state -- John Carroll -- Contemporary use of FOI: an insider's view -- Peter Tyndall -- What the legacy of FOI has been in Ireland, and where it goes from here -- 2003 Amendment Act: changes to 1997 Act -- Where do we go from here? -- Has the FOI regime achieved or surpassed expectations? -- Notes -- References -- 9 Conclusions -- FOI and political culture: still a culture of secrecy? -- Costing FOI: what price good governance? -- Cost of FOI -- Income from FOI -- Benefit of FOI -- FOI: the litmus test for political change? -- References -- Index.

Traces Ireland's introduction of FOI legislation and considers its use and operation from a series of perspectives, looking at the Irish experience in a truly international context.

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Electronic reproduction. Ann Arbor, Michigan : ProQuest Ebook Central, 2024. Available via World Wide Web. Access may be limited to ProQuest Ebook Central affiliated libraries.