Freedom of Information

In accordance with Section 8 of the Freedom of Information Act 2014 please find St. Michael’s House Services Publication Scheme. Each button below leads to a page comprising of relevant information and links relating to St. Michael’s House Services.

If the information you require is not currently made publically available by St. Michael’s House, you may consider making a Freedom of Information Request. See below on how to make this request.

• An overview of the Freedom of Information
• Your Rights
• Making a Request
• Application fees
• Charges for search, retrieval and copying of records
• Freedom of Information guidelines for contractors/suppliers
• Frequently asked questions

An overview of the Freedom of Information

The Freedom of Information Act 1997 (FOI) as amended by the Freedom of Information (Amendment) Act 2003 obliged government departments, the Health Service Executive (HSE), local authorities and a range of other public bodies to publish information on their activities and to make the information they held, including personal information, available to citizens.

On 14 October 2014, the Freedom of Information Act 2014 came into effect and repealed the 1997 and 2003 Acts. The new Act introduced a number of changes to the Freedom of Information scheme and widened the range of bodies to which the FOI legislation applies to all public bodies, unless specifically exempt. It also allows for the Government to prescribe (or designate) other bodies receiving significant public funds, so that the FOI legislation applies to them also.

The old legislation continues to apply to any FOI request made before the new legislation came into effect. It also applies to any subsequent review or appeal.

Your Rights

The Freedom of Information Act 2014 provides the following statutory rights:

• A legal right for each person to access information held by a body to which FOI legislation applies.
• A legal right for each person to have official information relating to himself/herself amended where it is incomplete, incorrect or misleading.
• A legal right to obtain reasons for decisions affecting himself/herself.

Making a Request

The request must be in writing to the :

Freedom of Information Officer, St. Michael’s House Ballymun Rd, Ballymun, Dublin 9

You must state that the request is being made under the Freedom of Information Act and what records you are seeking, supply as much detail as possible.

You must state the manner in which access is sought, e.g. inspect the originals, obtain photocopies, hear/view audio-visual record, obtain a copy of a computer disk or other electronic device, etc.

You must supply proof of identity in the case of personal information – acceptable forms of identity include:

• Certified copy of current valid signed Passport;
• Certified copy of full Republic of Ireland/Northern Ireland/UK driving licence or provisional licence;
• Certified copy of Garda Identification (ML10) form and photograph;
• Certified copy of National Identity Card – must show photograph;

You can ask for the following records:

Any records relating to you personally, whenever they were created

All other records created after a certain date – 21 October 1998 for the HSE and local authorities – 21 April 1998 for public bodies that were covered by the old FOI legislation – 21 April 2008 for public bodies that were not covered by the old FOI legislation – the date of the prescribing order (or a specified date) for prescribed bodies

A record can be a paper document or information held on computer. It includes, for example, printouts, maps, plans, microfilm, audio-visual material, disks and tapes.

if you are looking for Data that is not your own (ie a parent or sibling looking for a child’s data), it must be submitted under Data Protection with a Subject Access Request form. You  must state why you are requesting the information and it cannot be used for any other purpose.  There is no guarantee you will receive the information.

Application Fees

Section 27 of the Freedom of Information Act 2014 provides for fees and charges. The current application fees are:

* There are no fees where you appeal a decision to charge a fee or deposit, or a fee or deposit of a specific amount.

** Reduced fees will apply in respect of medical card holders and third parties who appeal a decision to release their information on public interest grounds.

No fees apply where the request involves access to your personal records.

Charges for search, retrieval and copying of records

Charges may be applied by the body for the time spent finding and retrieving records, and for any copying costs incurred by them in providing you with the material requested. It is very unlikely that any charges will be applied in respect of personal records, except where a large number of records are involved.

If the cost of search, retrieval and copying is €100 or less, no charge is applied. If the charge exceeds €100, full fees apply. You cannot be charged more than €500.

If the estimated cost of search, retrieval and copying is more than €700 the body can refuse to process your request, unless you refine your request to bring the search, retrieval and copying fees below this limit.

• Search and retrieval of records – €20 per hour
• Photocopying – 4 cent per sheet
• CD-ROM containing copy of documents – €10
• Radiograph (X-ray) containing copy documents – €6

Freedom of Information guidelines for contractors/suppliers

The Freedom of Information Act 2014 applies to all information held by public bodies. It also applies to specifically designated private companies that perform public functions and, in a limited capacity to private companies that contract to public bodies. The legislation gives anyone anywhere in the world the legal right to request and receive a copy of recorded information held by, or on behalf of, a public authority. The emphasis is always on disclosure of the information rather than withholding it.

All of the information that St. Michael’s House holds about your company is covered by Freedom of Information (FOI), as is any information that you hold on our behalf.

If a contractor is employed to undertake a service on our behalf the information they produce in relation to that service is subject to FOI legislation. The responsibility for compliance with the legislation remains with the public authority.

If St. Michael’s House receives a request for information that is held by a contractor, the contractor must assist St. Michael’s House and provide them with the information within 10 days of St. Michael’s House Services requesting it from them.

A contractor or other agency employed to undertake services on our behalf has no obligation to respond to a FOI request received by them if FOI does not apply to their organisation. If the contractor receives a request for the information they manage on our behalf they must either inform the applicant to direct their request to St. Michael’s House Services or transfer the request to us. Contractors should not in any case disclose information held on our behalf without our explicit agreement.

If St. Michael’s House receives a request for information held about any of its contractors all such information will be considered for release under the FOI Act. That does not mean it will automatically be released if it is requested as one of the exemptions may apply. Wherever possible we will seek the contractor's views before making a decision on disclosure of information that might affect their rights or interests. Although the contractor's representations will be taken into account the law makes St. Michael’s House Service’s alone responsible for making the final decision regarding disclosure.

Under the FOI Act 2014, St. Michael’s House Services has to under the Model Publication Scheme publish details of the following:

• Payments or Purchase Orders for goods and services Details, on a quarterly basis, of payments or purchase orders for goods and services of more than €20,000,
• A link to all current tender competitions on the eTenders website Details of current tender competitions over €10,000 for ICT and €25,000 for all other competitions are available on www.etenders.gov.ie
• Public contracts awarded including contract type, contractor, value, award date, duration and brief description (tabular format) over €10k for ICT and over €25k for other contracts On a quarterly basis, details of public contracts awarded for values over €10,000 for

ICT and €25,000 for all other contracts (exclusive of VAT) should be published including:

• Whether this is an award for a single contract or an award from a framework,
• Name of winning contractor and legal address,
• Value of the contract (exclusive of VAT),
• Type of Contract (works, supplies, services),
• Contract Award Date,
• Duration of contract in months,
• Brief description of contract.

Frequently Asked Questions

Click here to download a document with frequently asked question on freedom of information issues.