The €15 fee for Freedom of Information requests is to be scrapped only months after the government planned to extend it.

The controversial fee is to be removed as part of laws which have nearly completed their passage through the Dáil.

The decision comes less than a year after the government had planned to extend the €15 fee by charging it multiple times for a single request.

The move will also lower the fees which State agencies can charge people for the time needed by staff members to respond to requests.