West Cork Enterprise Board and the FOI ACT

The Enterprise Boards will become subject to the FOI Act in late October / November 2005.

Freedom of Information - General information

The Freedom of Information (FOI) Act was implemented for Government Departments and other public sector agencies from 21 April 1998. The enterprise boards will come under the auspices of the Act in Oct/Nov 2005.

The FOI Act establishes three new statutory rights:

• a legal right for each person to access information held by public bodies;
• a legal right for each person to have official information relating to him/herself amended where it is incomplete, incorrect or misleading;
• a legal right to obtain reasons for decisions affecting oneself (refers only to decisions taken on or after the Act applied to the Board).

The Act asserts the right of members of the public to obtain access to official information in possession of the West Cork Enterprise Board to the greatest extent possible consistent with the public interest and the right of privacy of individuals.

The FOI Act is designed to allow public access to information held by public bodies which is NOT routinely available through other sources. Access to information under the Act is subject to certain exemptions and involves specific procedures and time limits.

Useful Links for FOI

FOI Central Policy Unit
http://www.foi.gov.ie

Office of the Information Commissioner
http://oic.gov.ie/

If you have any queries in the meantime please contact us.