239. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Minister for Defence the number of FOI requests her Department, and each agency under her auspices, received in each year 2020 to 2025, and to date in 2026; the number that were refused on original decision; the number for which reviews were sought and the number of those reviews whereby the original decision was amended; the number for which subsequent appeals were submitted; the number of those appeals which resulted in an amendment to the original decision; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [61051/26]

The total number of Freedom of Information requests received by the Department of Defence and by the agencies under my remit during the period 2020 to date in 2026 is set out in the table below.

*161 requests were submitted and 163 requests were dealt with as two requests were sub-divided.

There are three bodies under the aegis of my Department; the Army Pensions Board, established under the Army Pensions Act 1927, the Ombudsman for the Defence Forces (ODF), established pursuant to the provisions of the Ombudsman (Defence Forces) Act 2004 and the External Oversight Body of the Defence Forces (EOB), which was placed on a Statutory basis on 1 December 2024.

Requests were refused where no records exist, requests were invalid, requests pre-dated the legislation or an exemption applied under the FOI Act. In line with FOI legislation, the Department actively engages with requesters to assist with the processing of FOI requests.

The Department of Defence and the Defence Forces are treated as separate FOI bodies for the purpose of processing requests for the records they each hold.

Freedom of Information