Information commissioner Emily O'Reilly is to ask all public bodies to draw up and implement a comprehensive records management policy "as a priority".
In a report published yesterday Ms O'Reilly said there should be "consistency" in searches for records by public bodies, and is asking that a "checklist" be developed and used for this purpose.
The commissioner made the recommendations in a report on her investigation into how public bodies have used the Freedom of Information (FoI) Act to refuse requests that involve searches for records. Ms O'Reilly examined 12 bodies as part of her investigation.
These included Clare County Council, Waterford Institute of Technology, Dublin City University (DCU), IDA Ireland, Cappagh National Orthopaedic Hospital and the Department of Education and Science.
Section 10(1)(a) of the Freedom of Information Act allows a public body to refuse a request for a record where that record does not exist, or where it cannot be found after reasonable searches have been conducted for it. The commissioner found that the 12 public bodies she examined were making genuine efforts to look for records requested, or to ascertain whether the records existed in the first place, before relying on section 10(1)(a) in their decisions. She said in some cases detailed search protocols had been developed and were being implemented and a number of bodies had already modified their practices on foot of suggestions made by her staff during the course of the investigation.