The Freedom of Information (FOI) Act provides that from 21 April 1998, every person has the following legal rights:
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.
You should make your request in writing to the Freedom of Information Unit, Department of Education, Marlborough Street, Dublin 1, D01 RC96 or by e-mail to: foi@education.gov.ie
If you wish you can use the department's standard standard application form to make your request or the application form for former residents of industrial and reformatory Schools depending on the type of information you are seeking.
Your request should include the following:
If you need any help, staff in the FOI Unit will be happy to assist you.
There is no fee for making a request under Freedom of Information.
It is very unlikely that any fees will be charged in respect of personal records, except where a large number of records is involved. Requests for personal information includes information relating to your children or relating to deceased people.
In the case of non-personal requests, charges may be applied for the time spent finding records and for any reproduction costs incurred by the department in providing you with the material requested where the total cost exceeds €100. Where this minimum threshold (equivalent to 5 free hours) is exceeded, a rate of €20 per hour will be charged for the full amount of time spent.
A maximum ceiling of €500 generally applies to such fees but where the cost of search, retrieval and copying is greater than €700, the request may be refused unless the scope of the request is narrowed.
List of fees
| Search and retrieval | €20 per hour |
| Copying charges | Photocopy per sheet €0.04 |
| CD-ROM | €10 |
| Radiograph | €6 |
If you are dissatisfied with the department's response you can 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 €30 or a reduced fee of €10 for medical card holders should be addressed to:
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 (€50 or a reduced fee of €15 for medical card holders) should be forwarded directly to the following address: