FOI

Introduction

The Freedom of Information (FOI) Act 2014 provides that from 14th April 2015, every person has the following legal rights:

• the right to access official records held by public bodies - in this case, An Rialálaí Agraibhia (Agricultural and Food Supply Chain Bill 2023)
• the right to have personal information held on them corrected or updated where such information is incomplete, incorrect or misleading;
• the right to be given reasons for decisions taken by public bodies that affect them.

Regulations provide that parents, guardians and next-of-kin may apply to exercise these rights in certain circumstances. The FOI Act gives legal rights to obtain access to records held by public bodies. There is generally no time limit in the case of personal information about the requester. In other cases, the right of access is to records created from the 21st of April 2008.

Freedom of Information Act 2014 - full text

Getting access to information

The following records come within the scope of the FOI Act:

• All records relating to personal information held by An Rialálaí Agraibhia irrespective of when they were created.
• All records created from 21st of April 2008
• In certain circumstances, records created prior to 21st April 2008 may be accessible.

Procedure for making a request

Requests should be submitted in writing either by post or email to the address below

• specify that the request is being made under the FOI Act
• be as clear and specific as possible in making your request and provide as much information as possible to enable An Rialálaí Agraibhia specify that the request is being made under the FOI Act to identify the records that you require.
• If you would like to receive access to the information/records in a particular format, (e.g., photocopies, electronically etc), please mention this when submitting your request.
• When you are seeking information which is personal, you will be required to supply appropriate identification.
• For your convenience we have prepared a Freedom of Information Request Form which can be found on our website.

Should you need any assistance in identifying the records required, the staff of An Rialálaí Agraibhia will be happy to assist and can be contacted at:

Postal Address:

FOI Officer

An Rialálaí Agraibhia

Campas Bhacastúin, Cill Droichid, Co Chill Dara, Éireann, W23 X3PH

Backweston Campus, Celbridge, Co Kildare, Ireland W23 X3PH

 Email: foi@agrifoodregulator.ie

There is no application fee for requests.

Other charges may be applied for the time spent finding records - these are called search and retrieval fees and for any photocopying costs incurred by An Rialálaí Agraibhia in providing you with the material requested. Details of these will be notified to you in writing. In cases where search and retrieval fees apply, we are obliged to charge a deposit of at least 20% of the estimate to the requester. Fees for the estimated cost of searching for and retrieving records and copying the records can only be charged with respect to records being released. €20 is charged for each hour spent searching for and retrieving records and €0.04 is charged per sheet for a photocopy of the records released.

Timeline for responses to FOI requests

Under the Act, a request for records must be acknowledged within two weeks and in most cases, responded to within four weeks. A week is defined in the Act to mean five consecutive weekdays, excluding Saturdays, Sundays and Public Holidays. There are some limited situations under the FOI Act, which could mean that the making of a decision could take longer than four weeks. If this occurs, you will be notified in writing. If you have not received a reply within four weeks, you are automatically entitled to consider that An Rialálaí Agraibhia has refused to grant your request and you may immediately appeal to the FOI Unit for a review on the matter.

Appeals process

You may appeal any decision issued by An Rialálaí Agraibhia in writing seeking an internal review of the matter. You should make your appeal within four weeks from the date of response (although late appeals may be permitted in certain circumstances). The appeal will involve a complete reconsideration of the matter by a more senior member of staff of An Rialálaí Agraibhia and a decision will be communicated to you within three weeks. A fee of €30/€10 for a medical card holder or dependant of a medical card holder may apply to such an application for all non-personal requests.

What if I am not satisfied with the decision of internal review?

You may appeal the decision within six months by writing to the Office of the information Commissioner. (Note: Certain Decisions must be appealed within 2 weeks of being notified of the Decision (see Section 22 of the FOI Act). If you make an appeal, the Office of the Information Commissioner will fully investigate and consider the matter and issue a fresh decision. All appeals should be addressed to:

Office of the Information Commissioner, 6 Earlsfort Terrace, Dublin 2, D02 W773. Phone: +353 1 639 5689 Email: info@oic.ie

A fee of €50 (€15 for a medical card holder or dependant of a medical card holder) may apply to such an application.

Further Information

For further information on Freedom of Information you should visit the following websites: www.foi.gov.ie and www.oic.gov.ie