Freedom of Information (Amendment) Act 2003
The Freedom of Information (FOI) Act 1997 established three new statutory rights:
- A legal right for each person to access information held by public bodies.
- A legal right for each person to have official information relating to him/herself amended where it is incomplete, incorrect or misleading;
- A legal right to obtain reasons for decisions affecting oneself.
- The Act asserts the right of members of the public to obtain access to official information to the greatest extent possible consistent with the public interest and the right to privacy of individuals.
What Records can be Requested
- All records created after the Act commenced – 21st April 1998
- All personal records of clients, whenever created
- Earlier records if needed to understand later records which are accessed.
How applications are processed
Applications must be acknowledged within 2 weeks of receipt, and a decision is usually made within 4 weeks. If a third party is involved, the decision will be made within 7 weeks.
Fees
A Scale of fees for Freedom of Information requests was introduced under the Freedom of Information (Amendment) Act 2003. The fees came into force on 7th July 2003. A reduced fee will apply if the person making the request is a medical card holder or a dependant of a medical card holder.
Scale of Fees for FOI requests
| Type of Request/Application | Standard Fee * | Reduced Fee * |
|---|
| Initial Request for a record under section 7 | €15 | €10 |
| Internal Appeal | €75 | €25 |
| Appeal to Information Commissioner | €150 | €50 |
| Request under section 7 for personal information | No charge | No charge |
| Application under section 17 for amendment of a record containing incorrect, incomplete or misleading personal information | No charge | No charge |
| Application under section 18 for the reasons for a decision affecting the individual | No charge | No charge |
F.O.I. in Sligo County Council Requests under the FOI Act for information held by Sligo County Council should be addressed to:
Kevin Colreavy Freedom of Information Officer Sligo County Council County Hall Sligo.Telephone: 071 9111019 e-mail foi@sligococo.ie
Download the Freedom of Information Application form (pdf) - 26 kbs
*Fee will not apply where a person appeals a decision to charge a fee or deposit, or a fee or deposit of a particular amount under section 47 of the FOI Act Reduced fee will apply in respect of third parties who appeal a decision of a public body to release their information on public interest grounds.
