Making a Freedom of Information Request

Yes, if you require any help the staff in FOI Unit will be happy to assist you with your request. The Unit can also provide assistance to persons with a disability to exercise their rights under the FOI Act 2014 (e.g. by accepting oral requests from requesters' who are unable to read, print and/or write due to their disability;  or enabling the requester to inspect or have records explained to him/her).

You can ask for the following records held by The Policing Authority:

• any records relating to you personally, whenever created;
• all other records created after 21 April, 1998

You do not have to give a reason as to why you want access to particular records and the Policing Authority must give you an explanation if it refuses you access to any record that you have requested. There are also certain exemptions that may apply to the records you seek under the Act. This means that the record is protected and may not be released. If any of these exemptions apply to a record you have sought you will be informed.

There is no up-front fee for making an FOI request.

There is no fee in respect of personal records, except where a large number of records are involved.

In the case of non-personal requests, charges will apply in respect of search and retrieval and any reproduction costs incurred by the Policing Authority in providing you with the material requested where the total cost exceeds €100. A rate of €20 per hour will be charged for the amount of time spent where this minimum threshold (equivalent to five free hours) is exceeded.

A maximum ceiling of €500 applies to such fees, but where the cost of search, retrieval and copying is greater than €700 the request will be refused unless the requester narrows the scope of the request.

List of Fees

• Search and retrieval: €20.00 per hour
• Copying charges: Photocopy per sheet: €0.04 / CD-ROM: €10.00 / Radiograph: €6.00

Appeals

• Internal Review fee costs €30 (€10 for medical card holders)
• Appeal to the Office of the Information Commissioner costs €50 (€15 for medical card holders)

Method of Payment

All payments to the Policing Authority should be made by Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT). Please contact the FOI Unit for bank details.

Under the FOI Act 2014, a request for records must be acknowledged within 2 weeks and, in most cases, responded to within 4 weeks. A week in the FOI Act means 5 consecutive weekdays excluding Saturday, Sunday and public holidays. The time limit can be extended for a further three weeks in the event of necessary third party consultation. 

If you are unhappy with the Policing Authority’s response you can seek to have a decision re-examined by a more senior member of staff within the Authority. Please forward applications for review of a decision, together with a fee of €30.00 (or a reduced fee of €10.00 for medical card holders) to the FOI Unit.

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 (€50.00 or a reduced fee of €15.00 for medical card holders) should be forwarded directly to info@oic.gov.ie  or by post to the Office of the Information Commissioner, 18 Lower Leeson Street, Dublin 2

Phone: (01) 639 5689

Freedom of Information Unit
The Policing Authority
4th Floor
90 King St. North
D07 N7CV

Tel: +353 (1) 858 9090

E-mail: foi@policingauthority.ie

For more information on FOI please visit the FOI Central Policy Unit on the Department of Public Expenditure & Reform website and the Office of the Information Commissioner website.