Ireland’s new media regulator appears to have breached FOI rules by its failure to update its FOI disclosure logs on a regular basis.
On Tuesday, April 2, this journalist asked for a copy of Coimisiún na Meán’s FOI disclosure logs to date. On the evening of Thursday, April 4, they responded with a copy of the disclosure logs for the previous Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI), covering 2018-2021, but adding that Coimisiún na Meán is currently preparing the FOI logs for 2022 and 2023 and that these would be shared with Gript once they had been prepared.
By the time of writing, the logs had not been received.
Under the FOI Act 2014, section 8, FOI bodies are required to update their disclosure logs on at least an annual basis, and in some cases on a six-monthly basis:
“(4) An FOI body shall review and, where necessary, revise the material published under a publication scheme under subsection (1) —
(a) on at least an annual basis, or
(b) where the Minister has revised a model publication scheme or guidelines under subsection (7), not later than 6 months after the notice of such revision has been published in the Iris Oifigiúil.”
Meanwhile, a Code of Practice under section 48 of the FOI Act 2014, provides that disclosure logs in relation to non-personal requests should be published on a regular (e.g. quarterly) basis.
By its failure to provide FOI disclosure logs covering the duration of its time of operation – since March 15, 2023, when it took over from the BAI – Coimisiún na Meán appears to have fallen afoul of these provisions.
Despite a request for comment from Coimisiún na Meán, none was forthcoming by the time of writing.