X and the National Sports Campus Development Authority

Almost three years after the original FOI request, I have to make another decision on a matter that could and should have been concluded within a much shorter timeframe, had the NSCDA properly complied with the requirements of the FOI Act. Its handling of both the previous request and of the process which gave rise to this latest review has been most unsatisfactory. In fact, as will become clear later in this decision, a significant premise of the NSCDA's argument against release of the records would not have been an issue at all had the requests been properly decided upon from the outset.

" All emails received by Mr. David Conway, Mr. Sean Benton, Mr. Donagh Morgan and Ms. Laura Magahy from the following [professional services firm] personnel... [four named individuals]...between 1st May 2003 and 20 February 2011."

"(a) the NSCDA's decision as issued to the applicant on the matter, or (b) an explanation as to why the NSCDA has not made a decision on [the applicant's] request, despite a direction from the Commissioner in his decision of 3 October 2014 and (c) in the event that a decision has been made and that certain records are being withheld, copies of those records and a statement of the reasons for that decision with reference to the exemptions relied upon and the public interest balancing tests applied where relevant."

The section 37 letter overlapped with an internal review decision of the NSCDA being forwarded to the applicant. While an electronic version of that letter was received in my Office after office hours on 24 April (effectively received on 27 April), the hard copy letter to the applicant was undated. On foot of that decision letter to the applicant, I decided to suspend the requirement that the Chief Executive attend.

I note here that had the NSCDA complied with the directions I gave in my decision of 3 October 2014, it would have been reasonable for the applicant to anticipate receiving an internal review decision by the third week in January 2015. However, as can be seen from the events described above, a purported decision was not issued to the applicant for a further three months beyond that anticipated deadline and then only as a result of my Office's intervention.