Section 46 (1)(b) of the Freedom of Information Act provides a right of access to records which relate to the general administration of the Office. This in effect means that records concerning criminal investigation or prosecution files are not accessible under the FOI Act.
The Office has continued to make FOI information available as readily as possible. Our Reference Book (required to be provided by section 15 and 16 of the Act in line with the new legislation) is widely available in public libraries throughout the country and also on the Office website at www.dppireland.ie. This publication outlines the business of the Office including the types of records kept.
The FOI Unit can be contacted by telephone at +353 1 678 9222 or by e-mail at foi@dppireland.ie. This e-mail address can be used for general queries on FOI but cannot be used to submit a request where an application fee is required.
During 2004 a total of eight requests were submitted to the Office. Seven of the eight requests were refused under the Act and one request was withdrawn and dealt with outside of FOI. The reason for six of the seven refusals was that the records sought did not relate to the general administration of the Office.
|
Requests Received 2004 |
|
|---|---|
| Refused under section 46(1)(b) | 6 |
| Requests Refused | 1 |
| Withdrawn/dealt with outside of FOI | 1 |
| TOTAL REQUESTS | 8 |
One of the requests was submitted by a journalist and the other seven by the general public. All requests related to criminal files.
|
Requesters 2004 |
|
|---|---|
| Journalist | 1 |
| General Public | 7 |
The Office received one request for an internal review and the original decision was upheld. The requester then appealed this decision to the Information Commissioner who also upheld the original decision.
|
Reviews |
|
|---|---|
| Requests for Internal Review | 1 |
| Requests to the Information Commission for Review | 1 |