Ken Foxe Profile picture
Sep 17, 2018 9 tweets 4 min read Twitter logo Read on Twitter
Thread: So the Department of Justice has finally released those notorious 68 "missing" emails between #TerryProne and #FrancesFitzgerald. Turns out there were actually more than 190, covering a period of more than three years.
The Department of Justice, as instructed by the Information Commissioner, wrote to #FrancesFitzgerald asking her if she had any documents relevant to the request:
The records themselves are "in the post" so all I have so far is a schedule of 185 emails between #FrancesFitzgerald and/or her special adviser with Terry Prone and/or the Communications Clinic. There were another 23 that the minister volunteered as part of the process.
Department of Justice has made an apology for their failure to discover the records in the first place. They said the original searches were made "in good faith"
These are the type of records involved - lots of advice on speeches, speaking points, draft articles and so on. Much of it relates to day-to-day justice matters. The earliest record is May 2014, the latest is from March 2017:
If you look closely, you'll see exemptions under Section 42 (k) - this is the notorious "private papers" clause. It was most famously used to shield political expenses from scrutiny despite the law having been introduced to protect whistleblowers:
We @RightToKnowIE will definitely be appealing those ones as the relevant standing orders make pretty clear distinction between regular TDs & Senators and "officeholders" i.e. ministers. But that's a battle for another day:
Anyway, to sum up. The good news - this is a big victory on transparency and the reach of Freedom of Information. The less good news - the records themselves may not be that terribly exciting (though that remains to be seen).
Appealing these cases is not free. So please do support us with whatever you can over on @RightToKnowIE at: righttoknow.ie/support-us/ And to those who've already donated, thank you very much.

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More from @kenfoxe

Sep 23, 2018
Thread - The #FrancesFitzgerald and #TerryProne emails. Terry Prone removes all references to official #garda statistics from a ministerial speech because they might turn out to be unreliable
The special adviser to #FrancesFitzgerald laments the quality of a draft speech she had sent to #TerryProne. Thanks her for "another masterpiece". This speech has been withheld from the FOI release as "private papers" of the former minister.
Sometimes the quality of the speeches she edited was much better. This one was “beautifully argued” and #FrancesFitzgerald was advised to “read it out loud at least twice” before delivery
Read 23 tweets
Sep 4, 2018
Thread: Why people 'ratted out' their neighbours during the hosepipe ban. One resident in Cork said their neighbour was using water to wash their yacht. All these from a database obtained under #FOIA from #IrishWater
On Day One of the ban in Fingal, one person called to say their neighbour had been filling up a large pool and emptying it continuously over the past few days:
Also in Fingal, somebody reported to be using their hosepipe to wash twenty carpets in their front garden:
Read 9 tweets
Aug 16, 2018
Thread: Dept of Justice claimed there were zero records of communication between former Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald and Terry Prone of the Communications Clinic. Review by Information Commissioner finds there were at least sixty eight ... sixty eight!!
That was without any attempt having been made to check if other records were held on private email addresses or messaging services. Dept of Justice said it would "not be appropriate" to ask Min. Fitzgerald if such records exist. Fortunately, Information Commissioner disagrees:
Information Commissioner says it is not "particularly relevant" that Minister Fitzgerald no longer works at the Department. Says if people are using gmail addresses for their work, then the content cannot be considered "private"
Read 9 tweets

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