Annual Report 2002

Freedom of Information

During 2002 one request for information was received and accommodated in full. The request was for "All records (in any form) relating or referring to the GRECO 'Evaluation Report on Ireland'."

It is, of course, the case that the vast bulk of the material furnished to the Standards Commission under the Electoral Acts is available for public inspection and copying at the office and on the website of the Standards Commission. There is, however, a general prohibition on the disclosure of information obtained under the Ethics Acts, except in specific circumstances as outlined in section 35 of the 1995 Act. It is an offence under the legislation to contravene the provisions in question, which are not superseded by the Freedom of Information Act, 1997.

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