Under Fire

international | rights, freedoms and repression | opinion/analysis Wednesday February 15, 2006 21:32 by Liam Mullen - Freelance Journalist

When Ireland introduced the Freedom of Information Act in 1998, it was envisaged that a period of greater transparency would ensue.
Revelations of corruption arising from the Beef Tribunal, and the subsequent Flood, McCracken and Moriarty tribunals, helped push Freedom of Information on to a political agenda that seemed to promise more openness, but which has failed to materialise.
Today it is widely recognised that Ireland has some of the more draconian rules on releasing documents into the public domain, and that Freedom of Information is tied up in mindless bureaucracy and red-tape. Information sought may in some cases cost the recipient up to 400 Euros.

A top source has revealed that this type of charging is “Punitive”, and a “restriction on freedom itself.” It was further revealed that “key information is not to be found, unlike Sweden” – the country that first brought us the notion of Freedom of Information – and which is now recognised as a Human Right.
It is recognised that the libel laws within Ireland restrain the power of the press. Justice Minister Michael McDowell is currently looking at changes in this policy, but any changes will need to be approved by Cabinet.
The United States enshrined in its constitution under the First Amendment more freedom to the press than Europe ever did. European law, based as it is on English law, always sought to muzzle the press during the early days of newspaper empires – heavy taxes on newsprint, stamp duties and the like.
But even in the United States, Freedom of Information can come at a heavy price. The US Justice Department is seeking $400,000 from the People for the American Way Foundation for seeking information pertaining to the rounding up of immigrants in the wake of 9/11 who were not heard from because their court records were sealed.
A row is currently brewing in the United States in relation to the release of documents to the Senate Judiciary Committee pertaining to the appointment of John Rogers to the US Supreme Court judiciary – an appointment announced by President George Bush. A keen advocate of the Freedom of Information Act, Senator Patrick Leahy, a ranking Democrat Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, urged staff working at the Ronald Reagan Library to release documents, which need to be consulted by the Committee prior to the nomination hearings on September 6th 2005. In recent days the Ronald Reagan Library has released numerous documents.
Senator Edward Kennedy is seeking information from the US Justice Department on missing ‘Affirmative Action documents’, held by the National Archives and Records Administration. The Senate Judiciary Committee, chaired by Democratic Harry Reid is concerned over Roger’s stand on civil rights issues, women’s rights and other fundamental rights enshrined under the US constitution.
In particular, the Committee is seeking documents in relation to cases argued by Rogers in Franklin V Gannett, Rust V Sullivan, and Bray V Alexandria Women’s Health Clinic – a time when Rogers was working for Reagan and President George H. W. Bush – as a special assistant to Attorney William French Smith, then as a legal-eagle in the White House counsel’s office, and as Principal Deputy Solicitor General.
In Rust V Sullivan, Rogers filed a brief to the US Supreme Court that indicated his objections to the findings of the Roe V Wade case, which effectively legalised abortion in the United States.
Opponents to the John Roger’s nomination are fearful of the man’s beliefs, and have linked him with right wing groups like The Federalist Society, though Rogers himself denies such links. The Federalist Society itself opposes the notion that it is some kind of Opus Dei organisation shrouded in secrecy and states that many of its members are part of the US legal administration – Justice Department lawyers, White House attorneys, judges and legal personnel.
According to Democrat Leader, Harry Reid, the “jury is still out” on the appointment.
Other democrats like Mark Pryor, a US senator for Arkansas, are keeping an open mind on the process and will consider the Roger’s appointment on the basis of “credentials, judicial temperament, and ability to be fair and impartial.”
If Freedom of Information Acts are to have any kind of impact on the public’s right to know, governments worldwide will need to get their act together. It isn’t simply a case of the Americans denying access to records; the Irish Government are no shining beacons of light on this side of the Atlantic either. Even the British Government has come under fire over its policies in relation to FOI requests, with the ex-BBC reporter, John Gilligan, asserting recently that he was highly critical of the British FOIA, and stating that in order to do their jobs properly journalists should have unimpeded access to records.
In Ireland, the Information Commissioner’s – Emily O’Reilly - reports make for startling reading. The report for 2004 noted that overall usage had fallen by 50% and that requests for information of a non-personal nature had fallen by 75%, usage by the media of the act had also fallen, business requests fell by 28%, and that between the first quarter of 2003 and the first quarter of 2004, FOI requests had fallen by 83%.

A spokeswoman in the Office of the Information Commissioner, Mary Byrne, stated that during 2004, 12,597 requests were made to public bodies under the FOI Act. This figure represented a decrease of 5,846 requests (minus 32%) on 2003 and a decline of 4,599 (minus 27%) on 2002. According to Byrne, the “overall fall between 2003 and 2004 is in line with the pattern of decline identified in the Commissioner’s Investigation Report published in June 2004 and can be attributed primarily to the imposition of requests and appeal fees.” She notes further that the Commissioner will comment further on the levels of requests to Public Bodies and the number of applications for review in her annual report, which will be published at the end of May or early June. The report can be accessed from www.oic.ie