Department of Culture, Communications and Sport

1. All correspondence between the Prison Service, the Department of Justice and the National Archives of Ireland relating to Prisoner Files (sometimes noted as closed prisoner files) dating between 1949 and 1960, which have been deposited in the National Archives under the legal requirements specified in the National Archives Act, 1986 (section 8). 2. A copy of the schedule/list/catalogue of these files. 3. A copy of all correspondence between the Prison Service, the Department of Justice and the National Archives of Ireland regarding allowing researchers access to these records. Under the National Archives Act, 1986, such records are expected to be made available for research under a thirty-year rule. 4. A copy of all correspondence between the Prison Service and the Department of Justice and the National Archives of Ireland regarding making such research possible given the fact that GDPR provides exemptions and allowances for historical research. This should include copies of any policy documents in place relating to access to these files after the introduction of GDPR in 2018, copies of arrangements previously made with researchers under GDPR who have already researched and published,(since 2012) on these closed prisoner files [c1920 and 1964], and correspondence regarding who makes the decision about whether these prisoner files are open for research and which Government Department is responsible for granting access. 5. The file list/s (held by the Prison Service) for the 18/series of records, previous requests ignored.