Independent Senator Victor Boyhan has called for a major debate on transparency following repeated freedom of information refusals by a State Department, stating the issue is fundamentally about “open and accountable government.”
Speaking in the Seanad this week, the Agricultural Panel Senator said he was determined to secure “openness, transparency and open data” across all governmental bodies.
“I am calling for a debate on open government data and the freedom of information Act,” Boyhan said.
“I do so in the context of exempted development.”
The Senator outlined an extended administrative process in which his attempts to access public consultation submissions from the Department of Housing were repeatedly blocked. Despite submitting a formal request on the 9th of July, he faced multiple refusals at various stages of the application.
“To fast-track it, I then initiated the process and it was refused by the Department,” he said.
“I did the appeal and it was refused by the Department. I paid the fee and it was refused by the Department.”
Boyhan explained that the Information Commissioner eventually accepted the case, but the Department subsequently decided to publish a partially redacted version of the documents online. He noted that there were inconsistencies in how the information was presented to the public.
“Despite all my requests and my refusals, the Department put a limited version of this up,” he continued.
“It is very interesting because the Department forgot to take certain names out of it while leaving a lot of names, albeit not intentionally, in another section of it.”
The Senator confirmed he will not withdraw his application and plans to write to all Members of the Oireachtas detailing the timeline of his interactions with the Department. He stressed that the core problem extends beyond his individual request and reflects a broader culture of stonewalling within State agencies that needs to be addressed.
“There is more to this,” he noted.
“It is about transparency and open and accountable government. In that context, I am now calling for a debate on freedom of information, FOI, open data and protected disclosures.”
Boyhan added that appropriate legislation is urgently required to support politicians operating within the national parliament.
“We need protected disclosure legislation that supports politicians in Dáil Éireann and Seanad Éireann,” he stated.
“That is the genesis. That is the request. We want openness, transparency and open data in government central to the Houses of the Oireachtas and I intend to continue bringing this up every week until we get this.”
Concerns regarding the freedom of information process in Ireland have been raised frequently in recent years by journalists and politicians alike.
Critics often point to significant administrative delays and a growing tendency among State bodies to refuse requests, which can undermine the system’s original purpose of holding government departments accountable by providing access to official public records.