Latest news with #FOI
Global News
17 hours ago
- Business
- Global News
Richmond residents demand answers amid city hall gift card controversy
Taxes in Richmond have gone up more than 17 per cent the past three years. At the same time, burdened taxpayers have unknowingly been paying hundreds of thousands of dollars for gift cards. Further review of documents Global News obtained under a freedom of information (FOI) request for 2019 through 2021 reveals taxpayers bought hundreds of dollars' worth of IKEA gift cards, Vanilla Visa prepaid cards and Mastercards. Some receipts have notations, such as 'prizes,' 'goals and accomplishments,' 'team building,' 'no sick time taken,' 'prizes for Halloween,' and 'take our kids to work day volunteer appreciation. 2:29 Richmond's gift card program lacked oversight, FOI documents reveal The city claims an initial review suggests they followed procedures in place at that time. Story continues below advertisement 'The question is whether people were essentially paying for things for themselves using gift cards to try and hide the trail that they were using taxpayers' money for, to spend on things for themselves,' said Duff Conacher with Democracy Watch. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy Richmond is justifying the use of taxpayer dollars to buy cards for Lululemon, Cineplex, Netflix, Fairmont Hotels and Petro Canada, saying some were for the United Way fundraising campaign. It admits that $295,000 worth of cards are unaccounted for in 2022 through 2024, after a previous Global News FOI investigation. 2:00 Documents reveal more gift card spending at Richmond City Hall One email contained in the thousand-plus pages of documents shows an order for $23,000 worth of restaurant gift cards. It was ordered in 2020 by the executive assistant to the city's previous chief administrative officer. Story continues below advertisement One person has been fired, and a criminal investigation is active and ongoing, according to the RCMP. The city won't reveal the status of a forensic audit, which is examining 10 years of gift card purchases by taxpayers.
South Wales Argus
2 days ago
- Politics
- South Wales Argus
Councillor on Caerphilly asylum seeker spend being unknown
Caerphilly Council is unable to state the amount currently spent, and I am flabbergasted at this especially when Caerphilly CBC state we have 63 housed so far in the borough. Newport City Council is unable to confirm how many are residing within the authority. Submitting an FOI, Cllr Etheridge said: 'I find it unacceptable they have not given me the number of asylum seekers in the county borough of Newport and referred me to the Home Office. "Does each authority interpret the FOI legislation differently, even though they are next door? 'Perhaps they need to be more joined up as Newport and Islwyn are one constituency come the Senedd election ' I think it's disgusting we have hundreds and hundreds of people on the housing register in both boroughs and others seem to take priority over our own residents. This is unacceptable. Cllr George Etheridge, Blackwood
The Guardian
2 days ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
Albanese government worse than Morrison era at producing documents for public scrutiny, report finds
The Centre for Public Integrity has accused the Albanese government of having a poorer record than the Morrison government for producing documents for public scrutiny, with a leading barrister warning Labor's landslide win may further entrench secrecy. The warning comes after the centre assessed the government's response to freedom of information applications, a tool that allows anyone an opportunity to request documents that are not publicly available. In 2022-23, for the first time, more FOI requests were refused than fully granted to applicants, the report found, which it said undermined the transparency principles of the entire system. The Albanese government was first elected in May 2022. The report also found the number of FOI documents granted in full had fallen by more than half in just over a decade – from 59% in 2011-12 to 25% in 2023-24. It found the rate of outright refusals nearly doubled, from 12% to 23% during the same period. Further, when an FOI decision is challenged and reviewed by the information commissioner, the wait time has increased from six months in 2016-17 to 15.5 months in 2023-24. The centre's director, Geoffrey Watson, called on the Albanese government to 'reverse this worrying trend to restore the public's right to know.' 'The alarming deterioration in transparency is deeply troubling.' Watson said. 'With the Albanese government's supermajority, the risk of entrenched secrecy becomes greater, undermining democratic accountability.' The centre also found the Albanese government had a worse compliance rate with Senate orders for the production of documents than its Coalition predecessor. 'The Morrison government's compliance rate with orders to produce documents in the 46th parliament was 48.7% compared to the Albanese government's rate of 32.8% in the 47th parliament,' the report said. 'This represents the second-worst performance of any parliament since 1993'. The centre also public interest immunity claims over documents have been steadily increasing. These claims are used by the government to withhold documents by arguing their release would not be in the public interest. In the last parliament, one claim was made every week. Prof Gabrielle Appleby, a board member of the Centre for Public Integrity, said 'ministers are hiding information from the Senate and the Australian people'. 'There appears to be no other good explanation for such a significant deterioration in the rate of compliance. This is corrosive of democratic accountability,' Appleby said. The centre said that without an independent legal umpire, as exists in New South Wales, it was impossible to state how many of these public interest immunity claims were 'bogus and evasive or legitimate and necessary'. Earlier this year, the federal government refused to release a 32-page document outlining its draft response to a parliamentary inquiry that called for sweeping changes to gambling regulation. This week, the ACT independent senator David Pocock pushed for the documents to be published as part of a senate order for the production of documents. The Liberals and the Greens have given their support to the order, giving Labor until the end of the month to comply or explain why they will continue to keep the documents secret. In May, the information commission revealed the federal government was refusing freedom of information requests at a rate not seen for a decade. At the time, Transparency International Australia chief executive officer, Clancy Moore, said the FoI system was essential to ensuring accountability and integrity, but refusal rates suggested 'important information about the functioning of government is being kept from everyday Australians'. The Centre for Public Intergity report did note some improvements to the FoI system, including faster processing times and a reduction in the backlog of decisions awaiting review. In 2023, the Australian Financial Review reported the prime minister's office had initally refused to release his ministerial diary under freedom of information laws as it would 'unreasonably divert' staff resources and unreasonably interfere with his job. The decison was subsequently reversed.
Irish Examiner
3 days ago
- Politics
- Irish Examiner
Prison service pleaded with Government to delay court cases to address chronic overcrowding
The Irish Prison Service (IPS) pleaded with the Department of Justice to stop scheduling extra court sittings and to consider using cells in Garda stations for prisoners. A message from IPS director of operations said they had done everything in their power to deal with overcrowding in jails, as numbers in custody approached 5,000. However, the senior official said they had now run out of options and 'decisions outside of their control' meant the number of people in prison would continue to rise. The email was sent last summer as the IPS struggled with high levels of overcrowding, which have since deteriorated further. The director of operations — whose name was withheld on security grounds under Freedom of Information laws — said there were 'no easy or palatable decisions' left. He said the UK government had just introduced emergency measures and delayed some court cases due to its own problems with overcrowding. The message said there were eight steps that needed to be considered or reconsidered as a 'matter of urgency' to ease pressure on Irish jails. This included: 'Cancellation of scheduled additional court sittings and a commitment that no further additional sittings will be arranged pending prison capacity being addressed.' He also called for the decision to appoint or reassign criminal judges to be reconsidered and cases involving asylum claims be dealt with in 'alternative facilities'. The director of operations said Ireland should also consider delaying court cases and using Garda cells to house prisoners. He added: '[We should] reconsider the proposal to unilaterally increase the rate of remission provided for under current legislation.' The email said a new policy on bail was needed urgently to ensure people awaiting trial for 'non-serious offences' were not sent to jail. An eighth suggested measure was redacted from the records on the basis it could compromise the security of the prison system. The email was forwarded to the Department of Justice in May along with an update from the governor of Mountjoy Prison, Ray Murtagh. The governor's message said: 'We now have an historical number of 912 prisoners in custody this morning, and when I previously expressed concern we were at 858. 'I now have all my additional 114 bunk beds filled and an additional 57 on mattresses.' He said the C base of Mountjoy was at full capacity, and a newly arrived batch of 12 prisoners would also have to sleep on mattresses on the floor. 'We are currently over 120% capacity, and this has placed significant unprecedented pressure on the prison,' wrote Mr Murtagh. He added he could see 'no abatement' in sight and other prisons in Dublin and Laois were also running over capacity. The records were only released this week by the Irish Prison Service following an appeal under FOI. The number of prisoners in custody has since smashed the 5,000 barrier, and on Monday of this week reached more than 5,500. That included 588 on temporary release as authorities have sought to ease pressure on a system that is operating at 119% of capacity. Asked about the correspondence, a spokesman said: 'The Irish Prison Service must accept into custody all people committed to prison by the courts. 'As such, the Irish Prison Service has no control over the numbers committed to custody at any given time.' He said temporary release was used on a case-by-case basis, and they were working closely with the Department of Justice to ensure a safe working environment for staff and for prisoners.
Extra.ie
5 days ago
- Extra.ie
Did State pay my sister's killer after conviction?
The Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage has refused to clarify if was still being paid by the State as recently as February, almost six years after murdering his wife Valerie French. Mr Kilroy, a former park ranger with the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS), has been behind bars since beating, stabbing and strangling his wife to death in Kilbree Lower, Co. Mayo, in June 2019, while the couple's three children slept. Today's top videos STORY CONTINUES BELOW After two collapsed trials, he was convicted of her murder last July, the jury rejecting his plea of not guilty by reason of insanity. Valerie French However, received information in February this year that the Co. Meath native was still being paid by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, which oversees the NPWS. When the reasons for this were queried in February by Extra, a spokesman for the department said on February 19: 'The matter is currently the subject of legal correspondence, however, the department does not comment on individual circumstances of existing or former members of staff.' But that comment changed this week, with the department giving an outright denial anybody serving time for a serious offence like murder was on the State payroll. The case around the brutal murder had already shone a light on the legal anomaly that has seen Mr Kilroy retain guardianship of the couple's three children after murdering their mother Valerie, a 41-year-old occupational therapist originally from Leap, Co. Cork. Valerie French Kilroy. Her brother David French, who is leading efforts to have this law changed and has recently published a book about his sister and the aftermath of her murder, has had three Freedom of Information (FOI) requests rejected since February in trying to establish if and when the State stopped paying Mr Kilroy a salary. An initial FOI submission to the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage was rejected on the grounds that specific personal information could not be shared. A second request asking for a description of protocol when someone is convicted of a serious crime such as murder received the response that it 'would fall under the category of serious misconduct. It is the case that all serious misconduct cases are dealt with on a case-by-case basis having regard to the relevant guidelines and procedures and legal advice, as appropriate.' A final request asked for the number of people on the payroll who have not presented to work in the past five years. This was refused on the grounds that it 'would involve the disclosure of personal Information'. Extra asked the department this week if it had any update to its comment in February. A spokesman responded: '…you have raised a query about a conviction for a serious criminal offence (murder) and the department can confirm that there are no persons currently serving a prison sentence for such a conviction who are in receipt of any payments (whether by way of salary or otherwise) paid by the department, which includes the NPWS.' Asked if that was true at the time of our initial queries in February, and what the 'legal correspondence' mentioned in the initial response referred to, a spokesman said the department 'won't be adding anything to the response' provided this week. Mr French said it is 'hard to find words to describe the situation' of Mr Kilroy potentially receiving a salary over six months after his conviction and almost six years after being arrested for murder. 'From child guardianship to property ownership, the legal situation following a homicide needs serious reform,' he told People Before Profit-Solidarity TD Ruth Coppinger raised the issue in the Dáil this week, with Taoiseach Micheál Martin responding that he did 'not have the background in respect of the NPWS and how it is dealing with this, but I will find out'. Ms Coppinger told Extra: 'It's very concerning someone who was very publicly tried and convicted for the murder of his wife could continue to be paid by the State.' An employment law expert told they 'can think of no legal reason why somebody convicted would still be getting paid'. 'If somebody is arrested for a really serious charge, such as murder, I would expect that they would immediately be put on administrative – i.e. paid – leave, because they have the presumption of innocence. 'But on conviction, that ought to have been withdrawn and his employment terminated. And I suspect what has happened is simple human error, he wasn't removed from the payroll, because as far as they were concerned, he was still on 'special leave.'' The solicitor added the 'only other angle I could see' is that, 'perhaps on humanitarian grounds, they're placing his salary in trust for the kids, because he's not in a position to provide for them and the mother has passed away'. But he further explained there was 'no legal authority' for such an arrangement. A spokesman for the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform told 'In the event a civil servant is convicted and incarcerated for a serious offence, dismissal would be highly probable, subject to the specific circumstances and the application of internal disciplinary procedures. 'The reasons for warranting the sanction of dismissal are cited in Appendix A of the Civil Service Disciplinary Code which states that any serious misconduct is misconduct which is sufficiently serious to warrant dismissal or other serious sanction.' A source in a union that represents civil servants said their experience aligns with the department's comments that judgments are made 'case by case' when someone is convicted of a crime. 'There's no one-size-fits-all process that I'm aware of,' they said. 'If you go down to the Four Courts and listen to a whole day's proceedings, there's no one-size-fits-all when it comes to criminal law. 'Criminal law is vast, and with good reason, because the nature of what transgresses the law varies widely. The law has different ways of dealing with cases of different individual criminal activity.' Mr Kilroy's legal team, Thomas J Walsh Solicitors in Castlebar, Co. Mayo, did not respond to an approach for comment.
