Freedom of Information in the Department of Education and Skills
Access to Information on the Environment (AIE)

Freedom of Information in the Department of Education and Skills

Freedom of Information Section 15 Manual is a guide to the functions and records of the Department of Education and Skills. It outlines the functions of individual sections of the Department as well as the types of records held, ways in which the functions and services are provided to the public and a listing of any publications issued.

Freedom of Information Section 16 Manual gives details of the rules and practices of the Department of Education and Skillls. It outlines the various rules, guidelines and precedents that individual sections use in making decisions.

These can be downloaded in Adobe Acrobat format by clicking on the links on the right of this page.

Freedom of Information Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Following are answers to Frequently Asked Questions about FOI. If you cannot find the answer to your question here or require further information please contact the FOI Unit.

What is FOI?
Do I need to make an FOI request to get information from the Department?
How does FOI work?
Will I be charged for requesting information under the FOI Act?
How do I make an FOI request?
Can I get access to any information that I seek?
How soon can a person making a request for records expect a reply?
What's the next step if I am unhappy with a decision on my request?
Can I get help making a request?
Why are all public bodies not covered by FOI?

What is FOI?

The FOI Act provides, that from 21 April 1998, every person has the following legal rights:

• the right to access official records held by Government Departments or other public bodies listed in the Act;
• the right to have personal information held on them corrected or updated where such information is incomplete, incorrect or misleading; and
• the right to be given reasons for decisions taken by public bodies that affect them.

These rights mean that from 21 April, 1998 people can seek access to personal information held on them no matter when the information was created, and to other records created after 21 April, 1998.

Do I need to make a FOI request to get information from the Department?

No- it is not necessary to make a FOI request to get information from the Department. A considerable amount of material is already made available to the public through information leaflets, publications and in response to enquiries. The Department has a dedicated Communications Office (Phone: 01-8896714) which is available to assist with general queries, requests for information and publications.

How does FOI work?

The Act requires public bodies to respond to requests from the public for information they hold. In most cases, public bodies must give their decision on a request within 4 weeks of receiving it. A week is defined in the Act to mean 5 consecutive weekdays excluding Saturdays and public holidays (Sundays are also excluded as they are not week days). Also, public bodies must produce reference books (known as FOI Section 15/16 Reference Books) setting out the structure of their organisation, the arrangements in place for providing information and any rules, guidelines or practices they use in reaching decisions that affect the public. This Department's Section 15/16 Manual is available from our FOI Unit. Section 15 Manual Section 16 Manual

Will I be charged for requesting information under the FOI Act?

A standard processing fee (as outlined in the list below) must accompany all applications with the exception of those applications requesting Personal Information. Please note that if claiming a reduced application fee, the request must be accompanied by the Medical Card registration number, issuing Health Board name and your consent to the verification of these details with that Health Board.

Other charges may be applied for the time spent finding records and for any photocopying costs incurred by the Department in providing you with the material requested. It is very unlikely that any fees will be charged in respect of personal records, except where a large number of records are involved. Section 47 of the FOI Act provides for fees.

Fees are currently set as follows in accordance with Statutory Instruments Nos 139 of 1998, 13 of 1997, and 264 of 2003.

Fee List

• €15.00 standard processing fee
• €10.00 standard processing fee (medical card holders)
• €75.00 internal appeal fee
• €25.00 internal fee (medical card holders)
• €150.00 appeal to the Information Commissioner
• €50.00 appeal to the Information Commissioner (medical card holders)
• €50.00 Third Party appeal to the Information Commissioner
• €20.95 per hour - search and retrieval
• €0.04 per sheet for a photocopy
• €0.51 for a 3 and a half inch computer diskette
• €10.16 for a CD-ROM
• €6.35 for a Radiograph (X-Ray) 

How do I make an FOI request?

Requests for information under the Freedom of Information Act must be made in writing to the Department's FOI Unit, should refer to the Act and be accompanied by the appropriate fee (if applicable). If information is required in a particular form (e.g. photocopy, computer disk, etc.) this should be specified in the application. Requests should be as specific as possible to enable the information sought to be identified. Where possible please try to indicate the time period for which you wish to access records e.g. records created between May 2001 and December, 2001. Also, if possible, try to specify the areas of the Department which you feel would be most relevant to your request.You can use the Department's FOI Application Form to request this information or the Application Form for Former Residents of Industrial and Reformatory Schools for Access to Records

Can I get access to any information that I seek?

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

• all records relating to personal information held by the Department irrespective of when they were created
• all other records created from the commencement of the FOI Act (21 April 1998)
• any records necessary to the understanding of a current record even if created prior to 21 April 1998
• personnel records of serving staff created from 21st April, 1995 and those created prior to that date where being used or proposed to be used in a way which adversely affects or may affect the person involved.

However, in order to allow Government business to be properly conducted, it will sometimes be necessary to exempt from release certain types of information in some circumstances. These are set out in the Act. Among the key exemptions are records relating to:

• Government meetings,
• law enforcement and security,
• confidential and commercially sensitive information, personal information (other than information relating to the person making the request).

How soon can a person making a request for records expect a reply?

Under the Act a request for records must be acknowledged within 2 weeks and, in most cases, responded to within 4 weeks. A week is defined in the Act to mean 5 consecutive week-days, excluding Saturdays and public holidays (Sundays are also excluded as they are not considered week-days). If a third party is involved there may be another three weeks before a response issues.

What's the next step if I am unhappy with a decision on my request?

If you are dissatisfied with the Department's response you can seek to have a decision re-examined by a more senior member of staff within the Department. Applications for review of a decision, together with a fee of €75.00 or a reduced fee of €25.00 for medical card holders should be addressed to the

FOI Unit Department of Education and Skills
Marlborough Street
Dublin 1

Note: These fees apply only to Non Personal requests.

If you are still unhappy with the decision, you have the right to appeal the decision to the Information Commissioner. Applications with appropriate fees (€150.00 or a reduced fee of €50.00 for medical card holders) should be forwarded directly to the following address:

Office of the Information Commissioner
18 Lower Leeson Street
Dublin 2
Phone: (01) 6785222
Fax: (01) 6610570
e-mail: ombudsmans@ombudmans.irlgov.ie

Can I get help in making a request?

Yes, if you require any help the staff of the FOI Unit will be happy to assist you in the formulation of your request. The Unit is also available to provide assistance to persons with a disability to exercise their rights under the FOI Act (e.g. accepting oral requests from requesters, who are unable to read, print and/or write due to their disability, enabling the requester to inspect or have records explained to him or her). The Unit can be contacted at:

Freedom of Information Unit,
Department of Education and Skills
Marlborough St.
Dublin 1.
Tel: 01889-2240/6463/6570
Fax: 01-8787932
e-mail: foi@education.gov.ie

Why are all public bodies not covered by FOI?

In Ireland, the FOI Act has been introduced on a phased basis. It commenced from 21st April, 1998 and applied, at the outset, to central Governmental Departments and certain bodies listed in the First Schedule of the Act. Section 5 of the First Schedule of the FOI Act provides for further extension of the Act following consultation between the Minister for Finance and other relevant Ministers. The thinking behind this phased approach to FOI is that bodies to which the Act is being gradually extended can benefit from the experience and expertise resulting from the successful implementation of FOI in the original organisations chosen. (List of Government Departments and Public Bodies covered by the FOI Act.) (FOI Extension 2006 - Names of public bodies which came under the Act on the 31 May, 2006)

Access to Information on the Environment (AIE)

Directive 2003/4/EC of the European Parliament and Council on Public Access To Environmental Information.

The Department of Education and Skills is subject to Directive 2003/4/EC of the European Parliament and Council on Public Access To Environmental Information. This regulation provides that, subject to certain exceptions, information relating to the environment held by, or for, a public body must be made available on request to any person.

Subject to certain exceptions, information relating to the environment held by, or for, a public authority must be made available on request to any person.

The Regulations provide a definition of environmental information and outline the manner in which requests for information may be submitted to public authorities. The Regulations also provide for a formal appeals procedure in the event that a person is unhappy with a decision on their request.

Requests must be in writing and, generally, a response should be made within one month from the date on which the request is received.

There is no initial fee required when lodging a request for information under AIE.

A Public authority may however, charge a reasonable fee when it makes available environmental information in accordance with the Regulations. Depending on the volume of information to be released, the Department of  Education and Skills may charge for the time spent retrieving records which could, for example, include the cost of staff or other costs connected with searching, retrieving (€20.95 per hour), compiling or copying of the information (4 cent per sheet).

Public bodies may refuse requests on certain mandatory grounds (e.g. personal information/third party information) or discretionary grounds (e.g. commercial confidentiality/ matters "sub judice" etc.)

Full details of these regulations are available from the FOI Unit at mailto:foi:@education.gov.ie

The Freedom of Information Act is intended to allow Public access to information which is NOT routinely available through other sources.

Useful Links:

AIE Regulations - Department of Environment, Heritage & Local Government
Irish FOI Site - Department of Finance
Data Protection Commissioner

Useful Documents: (Download from Department of the Environment, Heritage & Local Government website)

SI 133 of 2007 Access to Information on the Environment (PDF 153KB)
SI 133 of 2007 Access to Information on the Environment- Official Guidelines (PDF 470KB)