Information Commissioner, Ms Emily O'Reilly, has warned that new charges for appealing decisions under the Freedom of Information Act may "distort the level playing field" provided for by the legislation.
In a statement today Ms O'Reilly said the progressive nature of the charges could act as "a financial disincentive" to requesters.
She said the charges announced yesterday by Minister for Finance, Mr McCreevy, may run counter to the Act whose stated purpose is "to enable members of the public to obtain access to information to the greatest extent possible".
Under the new charges, requests under the Freedom of Information Act will cost €15 each from July 7th, while appeals to the Information Commissioner and Ombudsman will cost €150 a time.
It means that members of the public who are unhappy with a Department's response will have to spend up to €240 to appeal a refusal to the Information Commissioner, including a €15 initial request, €75 for an internal appeal and €150 for a final appeal.
Ms O'Reilly said: "Where requests are refused people may feel dissuaded, on the grounds of cost, from making an application for internal review or appeal to the Commissioner."
She said the charges will place new limits on access to "official information".
However, Mr McCreevy claims a substantial number of users of the FOI Act will be either unaffected or will qualify for a reduced fee.
The Commissioner added that she intends to monitor the impact of the fees and the effects of the recently amended legislation and will report her findings in due course.
"There have been significant changes all round in recent months", she said, "and it is proper for me to keep the Oireachtas and public informed of their impact, particularly where some of the changes, such as the introduction of appeal fees, are not features of all overseas FOI legislation".