Freedom of Information

The Freedom of Information (or FOI) Act, provides that from April 21 st 1998 every person has the right to:

Access official records held by Government Departments or certain other public bodies.

• Have personal information held on them corrected or updated where such information is incomplete, incorrect or misleading.
• Be given reasons for decisions taken by public bodies that affect them.

Under FOI, a person can seek access to personal information held on them no matter when this information was created and to other records created after 21 April 1998.

However, the Act does provide that in some circumstances certain types of information are exempt from release. The key exemptions are:

• Government meetings
• Law enforcement and security
• Confidential and commercially sensitive information
• Personal information (other than information relating to the person making the request)

Applications under the FOI Act should:

• Be submitted in writing to the Freedom Of Information Officer, Ordnance Survey Ireland, Phoenix Park, Dublin 8, together with the appropriate fee, if applicable:
• Specify that the request is being made under the Freedom of Information Act and:
• Be clear enough that OSi can identify specific records being sought.
  

In cases where OSi is not clear what records are being requested, OSi will assist the requester to put their request in such a way that the records being sought can be identified.

Normally a response will issue within four weeks of the receipt of the request. The requester will be informed if the reply will take longer.

Fees

There is no charge for a request for Personal information. However the following up-front fees must accompany a request for non-personal information.

*Medical card holder

Additional fees in relation to search, retrieval and copy of records may also apply.

Appeals:

Requesters who are not satisfied with the response they received can appeal to OSi for an internal review of the decision. This review is subject to an up-front fee (see Fees). A more senior officer within OSi will undertake the internal review. The reviewer can change or agree with the original decision.

If the requester is still unhappy with the result of the internal review, they have the right to appeal to the Information Commissioner ( 18 Lower Leeson Street, Dublin 2) who has been appointed specifically to hear such appeals. Again the appeal is subject to an up front fee.

For more information on FOI contact the FOI Officer (OSi) on 01 8025301 or 01 8025328, or visit the FOI website www.foi.gov.ie

Publications:

Section 15/16 Manual – A Guide to the functions, records, rules and practices of OSi, is available from the FOI Officer.