Mr Martin Cullen, TD, Minister of State at the Department of Finance, today welcomed the extension of the Freedom of Information Act to a range of new bodies in the industrial development and support area.

These bodies are:

Industrial Development Agency (Ireland),

Enterprise Ireland,

National Authority for Occupational Safety and Health,

Forfás,

FÁS,

FÁS International Consulting Limited,

Shannon Free Airport Development Company Limited,

Údarás na Gaeltachta,

National Standards Authority of Ireland, and

the Labour Relations Commission.

The Minister said that this was another step in the extension of the remit of the Freedom of Information Act into the public sector.

He noted that the Government intends that third level colleges should come within the FOI remit in October of this year, and that plans were being developed for further extensions of the Act thereafter. The Minister indicated that tens of thousands of FOI requests have been received and dealt with, and that there are now more than 280 public bodies subject to the Freedom of Information Act, compared to67 when the Act commenced.

Certain commercially marketed functions of the NSAI and some industrial relations functions of the LRC are not included in the extension of FOI to those bodies.

ENDS