# Freedom of Information

Last month

August 2023

THE MORNING LEAD

Twelve patients reported to have been sexually assaulted in mental health facilities last year

A report by

Stephen McDermott

The assaults are among more than 500 ‘serious’ adverse incidents in 2022.

The assaults are among more than 550 'serious' adverse incidents reported to the HSE in 2022.

Small number of assaults causing death or injury also reported in hospitals and social care settings

250 patients died or were seriously injured as a result of a fall in all healthcare settings last year.

21.6k

Aug 22nd 2023, 12:05 AM

This year

2023

# Adoption Authority of Ireland

Officials warned that lack of social workers would delay giving adopted people their records

New documents reveal that officials in the AAI and Tusla had raised concerns about difficulties recruiting staff in the months leading up to the Birth Information and Tracing Act coming into effect.

New documents reveal that officials in the AAI and Tusla had raised concerns about difficulties recruiting social workers, Órla Ryan reports

In December, adopted people were informed that they may not receive their records until autumn 2023

In the months leading up to the Birth Information and Tracing Act being enacted, efforts were made to hire more staff

7.3k

Jan 4th 2023, 12:05 AM

# Exams

Leaving Cert students ask Foley to keep 'no cliff edge' vow - and avoid clash with Harry Styles gig

Norma Foley has a challenge ahead to keep everyone happy as she aims to reform the Leaving Certificate.

36.4k

Jan 3rd 2023, 3:07 PM

Last year

2022

# Complaints

'Why do I pay my TV licence?': Viewers complain about 'awful' RTÉ Player

The State broadcaster said it has been “improving the reliability and resilience” of the service.

53.7k

Dec 25th 2022, 6:00 PM

# no access

No Access: Bord na Móna companies blanket blocking release of information

Key subsidiaries say they fall outside of regulations that enable environmental information requests.

17.1k

Jul 12th 2022, 7:30 PM

# Information

Watchdog expresses concern over the number of FOI requests 'deemed refused'

More than 35,000 requests for information were received by public bodies in 2021.

14.1k

Jun 22nd 2022, 6:00 AM

# Wildlife Act

'Butchered and mutilated': How the government was alerted to out-of-season hedge-cutting last year

Hedge-cutting and burning is banned every year between 1 March and 31 August.

Activities of farmers, commercial tree-fellers and a GAA club were among the complaints submitted to the Government.

Hedge-cutting and burning is banned every year between 1 March and 31 August under the Wildlife Act.

Law aims to protect and maintain wildlife diversity by establishing areas where wildlife can thrive in spring and summer months.

48.8k

Mar 23rd 2022, 12:05 AM

# Nursing Homes

Nursing home complaints: 'Window visits not being permitted' and other Covid concerns

The allegations are contained in documents released to The Journal under the Freedom of Information Act.

The allegations are contained in documents released to TheJournal.ie under the Freedom of Information Act.

Dozens of complaints were made throughout the year regarding issues surrounding Covid-19.

Other complaints were made over issues such as abuse allegations, building standards and staffing issues.

31.2k

Jan 4th 2022, 12:05 AM

All time

# Audit

HSE warned at start of pandemic that it 'may not receive' quantities of PPE it had paid for

The HSE was given the warning by auditors in June last year.

26.5k

Nov 6th 2021, 12:05 AM

# Covid-19

Average occupancy of Citywest isolation facility was 13.8% during first six months of pandemic

The facility opened to ease pressure on the health service in March 2020.

23.8k

Nov 3rd 2021, 12:05 AM

# busy investigating

Two international journalism awards for our investigative platform Noteworthy

The investigative team completed a number of collaborative projects in the past three months, thanks to your contributions.

4.8k

Oct 20th 2021, 12:30 PM

# Zapponegate

'A crisis in FOI': How Zapponegate highlighted crucial flaws in Ireland's transparency legislation

The latest controversy has raised concerns among journalists and transparency activists.

Latest episode in controversy has seen concerns raised by journalists, transparency activists and opposition TDs, Stephen McDermott writes.

Simon Coveney set to appear before Oireachtas committee this morning, following admission last week that he deleted text messages.

Department of Foreign Affairs published 111 records relating to proposed Zappone appointment yesterday on foot of numerous FOI requests.

17.0k

Sep 7th 2021, 12:05 AM

# Simon SMS

Sinn Féin calls for all documents related to Zappone appointment to be published

TD Matt Carthy said the Department of Foreign Affairs should also clarify if any other relevant documents have been erased.

10.7k

Sep 3rd 2021, 3:56 PM

# Merrion

Coveney asks to appear before Oireachtas Committee to clarify text controversy

The fallout from the Zappone controversy continues.

42.6k

114

Updated

Sep 2nd 2021, 5:28 PM

# Thanks To You

Noteworthy investigations reveal biggest climate emitters and violent bike theft increase

The investigative platform completed four new projects in the past three months, thanks to your contributions.

11.8k

Jul 7th 2021, 8:00 PM

# Transparency

Freedom of Information Act to be reviewed by government

The Act will be reviewed for the first time since being updated in 2014.

11.1k

Jun 17th 2021, 6:46 PM

# busy investigating

Noteworthy investigations expose environmental issues and analyse far-right activity

The investigative platform completed five projects so far this year, thanks to your contributions.

6.2k

Apr 22nd 2021, 12:30 PM

# Adoption

'Imagine someone clicked their fingers and you had no family or history, that's the reality for thousands of us'

Adopted people have called for long-awaited tracing and information legislation to be published as a matter of urgency.

13.5k

Apr 6th 2021, 4:46 PM

# debunked

Debunked: No, an FOI request did not show that RTÉ 'took orders' from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

A post on Facebook suggests that the broadcaster received money from a number of international groups.

35.8k

Feb 14th 2021, 7:30 AM

# student nurses

'I put an 11-week-old fetus into a little coffin': Student nurses to the Taoiseach in their own words

A number of nurses contacted Micheál Martin following a Dáil debate over pay in December

59.9k

Feb 8th 2021, 12:05 AM

# student nurses

'I had to tell them their baby was dead': Student nurses to Stephen Donnelly in their own words

A number of nurses contacted the Health Minister following a Dáil debate over pay in December.

102k

Feb 1st 2021, 12:05 AM

# Allegations

Nursing home complaints during Covid: Concerns over isolation and lack of social distancing

The allegations are contained in documents released to TheJournal.ie under the Freedom of Information Act.

30.5k

Jan 2nd 2021, 12:05 AM

# debunked

Debunked: No, a Freedom of Information request to the HSE did not prove that Covid-19 does not exist

The claim originated in a series of posts by Anti-Corruption Ireland last week.

48.1k

Dec 29th 2020, 5:52 PM

# Penalty Points

More than 500,000 people had points on their licences this year - here's a county-by-county breakdown

A total of 510,269 people had points on their licences on 30 September 2020.

40.2k

Dec 26th 2020, 7:30 AM

# on the house

TDs and Senators rack up over €2,000 in arrears at Dáil bar and restaurant

Figures obtained by TheJournal.ie show how much was owed by Dáil staff last month.

70.9k

Dec 25th 2020, 9:00 PM

# Streaming

RTÉ says it's striving to improve Player amid complaints about 'frustrating' and 'ridiculous' service

“To say this is frustrating would be a gross understatement,” one viewer wrote.

67.3k

Dec 25th 2020, 5:00 PM

# Name Our Storms

'Ciara caused a lot of hassle': Irish pronunciation leaves Dutch tongue-tied in naming of 2020-21 storms

Irish, UK and Dutch meteorologists recently collaborated on the winter storm names.

25.9k

Oct 8th 2020, 6:15 AM

# Supreme Court

'A ruling of significant importance': Supreme Court orders re-opening of landmark FOI appeals

The country’s highest court made the order in two rulings today.

23.3k

Sep 25th 2020, 4:51 PM

# black lives matter

Government urged to drop novels with 'racial slurs' from Junior Cert syllabus in response to Black Lives Matter protests

Parents, pupils and teachers have called for an update the school curriculum.

51.2k

168

Sep 14th 2020, 12:05 AM

# Coronavirus

'I urge you to use common sense': Praise and criticism in public's emails to Leo during start of lockdown

Correspondence sent to Varadkar shows how the public reacted to the crisis in its initial weeks.

52.4k

Aug 18th 2020, 12:05 AM

# Child and Family Agency

Tusla suffers 23 'high risk' data breaches - including stolen files and loss of devices - since last year

The vast majority of the cases involved an “employee error or omission”.

14.8k

Aug 17th 2020, 6:30 AM

# Aviation

CityJet and Stobart Air asked government for six-month bailout to ensure their survival after Covid-19

The airlines accounted for over 13% of air traffic at Ireland’s airports before the pandemic.

16.4k

Jun 21st 2020, 7:00 AM

# Coronavirus

HSE was 'gifted' €544,000 in free advertising by Google and Facebook during Covid-19 pandemic

New figures show the health service spent more than €1 million on advertising in the first two months of the crisis.

16.2k

Jun 19th 2020, 6:30 AM

# peter tyndall

Information Commissioner calls for incoming government to 'improve' Freedom of Information Act

Peter Tyndall was commenting as he published his officer’s annual report for 2019.

6.6k

Jun 17th 2020, 6:10 AM

# clusters

Hiqa sent more than 170 complaints relating to Covid-19 in nursing homes during March and April

Many complainants raised concerns about social distancing and infection control measures in homes as the virus spread.

18.0k

May 25th 2020, 12:05 AM

# let's talk about sex

Masturbation, sex toys and multiple partners: Emails show how the HSE drafted its Covid-19 sex guidelines

The guidelines were drafted late in March after a radio interview by the HSE’s Chief Clinical Officer.

88.7k

May 5th 2020, 12:05 AM

# 21 instances

Irish Water staff threatened with machete and pelted with rocks

An incident log shows that 21 instances of assault or abuse were reported by staff since 2017.

27.5k

Apr 15th 2020, 6:00 AM

# Mural high ground

Copper Face Jacks, Tayto and Bohemians FC sent warning letters by Dublin City Council over murals

The council sent 35 letters under the Planning and Development Act in recent years.

98.1k

Mar 2nd 2020, 12:05 AM

# tractor friction

It cost almost €70,000 to police the three winter tractor protests

Over half of that was spent on barriers to block tractors from gaining access to Kildare Street, where Leinster House is located.

13.6k

Feb 22nd 2020, 6:30 AM

# RTÉ Gold

'Absolute disgrace': RTÉ Gold listeners wrote to Dee Forbes expressing 'devastation' over station closure

That’s according to records released by RTÉ’s Freedom of Information unit.

49.1k

Feb 20th 2020, 6:00 AM