THE FIRST INTERIM REPORT
from the
Archives Advisory Group
Presented to the Tanaiste
And Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform
25th September, 2006
First Interim Report of the Archives Advisory Group
1. The Archives Advisory Group was appointed by the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Michael McDowell,T.D., with the following terms of reference.
'To advise the Department on the historical value of the archive records which it holds, or are under its control, which are over 30 years old.
To advise the Department on the arrangements it could put in place to make records available for the purpose of advancing academic research, including any guidelines and conditions that could be applied by the Department in granting access to the records for that purpose.'
2. The membership of the Group included;
Professor Mary Daly, Principal, College of Arts and Celtic Studies, UCD, (Chairperson)
Professor Ronan Fanning, Professor of Modern History, UCD
Professor Dermot Keogh, Professor of History, UCC
Professor Eunan O'Halpin, Professor of Contemporary History, TCD
Dr. Gerard Hogan, SC., Lecturer in Law, Law School, TCD
Dr. Margaret O'Callaghan, Lecturer in Politics, Queens University, Belfast
Mr. Thomas Quinlan, Senior Archivist, National Archives
Mr. Val O'Donnell, former Assistant Secretary, Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform.
Mr. Gerry Shannon, Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform was appointed Secretary to the Group.
3. At the launch of the Group on 10 February 2006 the Minister asked the Group to present its final report to him by the end of 2006. The Minister has also indicated that he would be happy to receive interim reports on the Group's work.
4. The Group has held six meetings (including the Inaugural meeting) to date and considers that it is in a position to submit a short interim report on its work to date, including recommendations to the Department.
5. Methodology
The Group considers it important to describe the methodology which it adopted in reviewing the records of the Department that are over 30 years old which have been unavailable for inspection - including records withheld under the provisions of the National Archives Act, 1986. (Hereinafter referred to as ‘the Act’).
6. The Department presented the following information to the Group at its first meeting relating to these records.
6.1 Details of all files 30 year-old or more relating to Security and Northern Ireland matters, withheld by the Department. Some of these files date from 1922. However, most of these records date from 1934 - when the present file classification system was adopted by the Department.[1]
6.2 Available information on files currently in the National Archives, but not available for public inspection. These are either files which were retained by the Department and deposited for safekeeping with the former Public Record Office of Ireland when it functioned under the auspices of the Department; or are files which have been withheld by the Department pursuant to Section 8 of ‘the Act’. They include a number of files dealing with personnel matters, which are outside the scope of the Group's terms of reference.
6.3 Information on files in the 'H' series of files. These files date from the period 1922 to 1934 (when the present file classification system was adopted). It consists of 320 distinct file series ranging across most, if not all, of the work of the original Home Affairs Ministry, which was subsequently renamed the Department of Justice.[2] Most of the 'H' file series were made available by the Department to the National Archives for general public release around 1990. However, some material in the series was retained at that time, including files which relate to personnel matters.
6.4 Finally, the National Archives provided information on files from 16 different file series - many dating from the 1930s - which are held in the National Archives. The file series involved are described in Appendix 2. The status of these files is unclear because it cannot be ascertained if they were ever reviewed under the provisions of ‘the Act’. All of these files are effectively closed to public inspection, until such time as they are reviewed by the Department. This review is currently under way. Some of the file series involved relate to personnel matters.[3]
7. The grounds on which a Certifying Officer appointed under ‘the Act’ may certify that a record should be withheld from public inspection are,
“that to make them available for inspection to the public –
(a) would be contrary to the public interest, or
(b) would or might constitute a breach of statutory duty, or a breach of good faith on the ground that they contain information supplied in confidence, or
(c) would or might cause distress to living persons on the ground that they contain information about individuals, or would or might be likely to lead to an action for defamation.”[4]
8. The Group sought the Opinion of its legal member, Dr Gerard Hogan, SC., on the correct interpretation of section 8(4)(c) of above provisions. Dr Hogan's Opinion is included at Appendix 1 of the report. The Group unanimously adopted Dr. Hogan's Opinion on this important matter, which applies, equally, to the functions and responsibilities of all Certifying Officers.
9. The Group also considered the arrangements for access to archives in other jurisdictions, including Australia. It examined the Council of Europe publication 'Access to Archives' which consists of 'A Handbook of Guidelines for implementation of Recommendation No. R (2000) 13 on a European Policy on Access to Archives'.
10. After reviewing the available information on the records of the Department that are 30 years old or more, the Group decided to concentrate its attention, initially, on the Security and Northern Ireland archive - the category referred to at paragraph 6.1 above. This was based on the Group's assessment of the likely historical significance of this archive.
11. The Group decided that members would select files for examination by reference to the information referred to in paragraph 6.1 above. All files in each box containing a requested file were examined by members. Members focused on particular areas of professional interest and expertise, including the political, social, legal, historical, archival domains, and on research aspects.
12. In the first phase of its work, the Group decided to concentrate its reading on files containing records dating up to 1956. This was chosen on the basis that it covered the period up to 50 years ago. As a matter of principle, the Group strongly favours the general release of all records that are over 50 years old, unless there are special reasons for the further withholding of individual records, pursuant to the provisions of section 8(4) of ‘the Act’. (See also paragraph 19 below).
13. On the basis of files examined to date, the Group considers it is in a position to make a general assessment in relation to the period up to 1956. As a result of the range of subject matters and the proportion of files examined to date, the Group confirms that they are sufficiently representative to enable it to draw general conclusions, and make recommendations under its terms of reference.
14. The Group wishes to acknowledge the ready assistance of the Department in facilitating access to the files in this archive, and in arranging to accommodate the reading needs of the Group. It also wishes to acknowledge the assistance of the National Archives in providing any additional information and assistance sought from it by the Group.
15. In the next phase of its work, the Group will concentrate on examining records relating to Security and Northern Ireland matters dating from 1956 to 1968. The Group intends subsequently to examine similar records for the period from 1969, which are 30 years old.
16. The Group also proposes to examine records in the ‘H’ series of files (See paragraph 6.3 above), which have not been released for public inspection.
17. When this work is complete, the Group intends to examine other categories of records in other areas of the Department, which are 30 years old, or more, and which have not been transferred to the National Archives for public inspection.
18. Conclusions
The Group's conclusions are as follows:
18.1 In so far as events, individuals and issues up to 1956 are concerned, the files held in the Security and Northern Ireland Division;
- contain a great deal of important historical material on the early decades of the State and on anti-State organisations, movements and individuals which is not available elsewhere and which will contribute significantly to the understanding both of state policy and institutions, and of anti-State and radical political organisations,
- also contain valuable material relating to judicial decisions, and proposals for law reform and legislative change in areas of both civil and criminal law,
- cast much fresh light on the deliberations of the Department and the Minister in terms both of individual cases and of the evolution of policy,
- contain very little material, such as medical and private personal information that is still of such sensitivity that it cannot be released, although some such material may need to be withheld from public inspection for a further period.
19. Recommendations
The Group makes the following recommendations for action by the Department under the terms of the National Archives, Act, 1986, based on its work to date.
19.1 The view of the Group is that the best practice for releasing records of historical value which have hitherto been retained or withheld, is through the timely transfer of such records to the National Archives and making them available there for general public inspection, as per the procedures provided under ‘the Act’. This approach will ensure that maximum access is provided to those wishing to examine important historical material which has not been made available for examination or research before.
19.2 The archives of the Security and Northern Ireland Division are of high historical value. The Group is strongly of the view that all such records that are over 50 years old (according to the definition of the age of Departmental records contained in ‘the Act’) should be transferred to the National Archives and made available for public inspection at the earliest possible date.
19.3 The Group recognises that the Certifying Officers, appointed under ‘the Act’, are the relevant statutory authorities for deciding on the transfer of Departmental records to the National Archives for public inspection. It recommends that any examination and certification of the records referred to at 19.2 above, by the relevant Certifying Officer, should be undertaken within a period of 12 months. (See 19.6 below).
19.4 The Group considers that some files in the archive can be transferred to the National Archives without any detailed examination being carried out by the relevant Certifying Officer. These include;
- Files consisting only of newspaper cuttings.
- Files containing material or information which is already in the public domain.
In this connection, the Group would like to stress the importance of avoiding the release of only a proportion of the record(s) relating to the same subject matter, if at all possible.
19.5 The Group is also of the view that all records in this archive relating only to proposals for legislation and to legal cases coming before the Courts, should be transferred to the National Archives.
19.6 To enhance the prospects of early access to these records, the Group recommends that the relevant Certifying Officer should arrange any examination and certification of these records so as to enable the records to be released to the National Archives in stages over the next 12 months. The Group suggests the following timetable:
· All records up to 1932 to be released by 31 December 2006
· All records up to 1939 to be released by 31 March 2007
· All records up to 1948 to be released by 30 June 2007
· All records up to 1956 to be released by 31 September 2007.
19.7 In considering whether any records in the Security/Northern Ireland Division should be withheld for a further period in the Department, pursuant to the provisions in section 8(4) of ‘the Act’, the Group recommends that the relevant Certifying Officer should apply the following parameters or guidelines in relation to all such cases:
· A presumption in favour of release in the public interest of any records that are over 50 years old (under the definition of the age of a record in ‘ the Act’) to the National Archives.
· Abstraction of a part or parts of a file (rather than the retention of the file in its entirety) should be used where possible and practicable in relation to any record which is proposed to be withheld.
· Where possible, digital imaging should be used to create easily readable redacted colour copies, to be placed on the file being released.
· Any decision to withhold a record that is over 50 years old for a further period should be taken in most exceptional circumstances, for stated reasons, and citing the relevant provision or provisions in section 8(4) of ‘the Act’, which is/are being invoked in relation to any such record or records.
· In addition, any decision to withhold such a record for a further period, under the provisions of section 8(4)(c ) of ‘the Act’, should have regard to the contents of the Opinion on the interpretation of that provision provided by Dr. Gerard Hogan, SC., included at Appendix 1 of this report. (See also paragraph 8 above).