8.1 Section 46(1)(b) of the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act, 1997 provides a right of access only with regard to records which relate to the general administration of the Office. This in effect means that records concerning criminal prosecution files are not accessible under the FOI Act.
8.2 The Office continues to make FOI information available as readily as possible. Our section 5 and 6 Reference Book is widely available both in public libraries throughout the country and on our website at www.dppireland.ie. This publication outlines the business of the Office including the types of records kept.
8.3 The FOI unit can be contacted by telephone 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.
8.4 During 2006 a total of nine requests were submitted to the Office. Seven of the requests were refused under the Act and one request was withdrawn. A further one request was granted in part. The reason for the refusals was that the records sought did not relate to the general administration of the Office.
8.5 One of the requests was submitted by a journalist, while the other eight requests were made by the general public with a total of seven of these requests relating to criminal files.
8.6 In the seven cases where requests were refused, only one of the people making the request sought an internal review of the original decision. In this case the original decision was upheld. The requester then appealed the decision to the Information Commissioner who also upheld the original decision.
|
Requests Received 2006 |
|
|---|---|
| Refused under section 46(1)(b) | 7 |
| Withdrawn/dealt with outside of FOI | 1 |
| Requests Granted | 1 |
| TOTAL REQUESTS | 9 |
|
Requesters 2006 |
|
|---|---|
| Journalists | 1 |
| General Public | 8 |
|
Reviews |
|
|---|---|
| Requests for Internal Review | 1 |
| Requests to the Information Commissioner for Review | 1 |