The Freedom of Information Act 1997 (FOI) as amended by the Freedom of Information (Amendment) Act 2003 obliged government departments, the Health Service Executive (HSE), local authorities and a range of other public bodies to publish information on their activities and to make the information they held, including personal information, available to citizens.

On 14 October 2014, the Freedom of Information Act 2014 came into effect and repealed the 1997 and 2003 Acts. The new Act introduced a number of changes to the Freedom of Information scheme and widened the range of bodies to which the FOI legislation applies to all public bodies, unless specifically exempt. It also allows for the Government to prescribe (or designate) other bodies receiving significant public funds, so that the FOI legislation applies to them also.

The old legislation continues to apply to any FOI request made before the new legislation came into effect. It also applies to any subsequent review or appeal.

The Freedom of Information Act 2014 provides the following statutory rights:

A legal right for each person to access information held by a body to which FOI legislation applies.
A legal right for each person to have official information relating to himself/herself amended where it is incomplete, incorrect or misleading.
A legal right to obtain reasons for decisions affecting himself/herself.

You can get information about data protection in Ireland on the Data Protection Commission website at this link. https://www.dataprotection.ie/

For a full list of your rights under the GDPR, please visit this site https://www.dataprotection.ie/en/individuals/rights-individuals-under-general-data-protection-regulation

To make an FOI request below, follow the SHS FOI Policy linked below.

Access to personal information must be made under the Data Protection Act or the Freedom of Information Act as outlined in the SHS FOI policy or the SARs Procedure. The request will then be handled under the regulation under which it was requested.

FOI Policy: ​Freedom of Information Policy 008.080.3.0

GDPR Subject Access Request Procedure: Subject Access Request Procedure PRO-007.088.3.0

Easy read access to your personal records: ​Easy to Read Access to Personal Records Policy 008.189.1.0

Further information on GDPR rights to access The Right of Access | Data Protection Commissioner

Charges that may apply when requesting information under FOI are listed in the FOI Policy here.

FOI Policy: ​Freedom of Information Policy 008.080.3.0

Access to any official documentation held by Sunbeam House Services can be sought under the Act. In certain defined circumstances it will sometimes be necessary to exempt from release certain types of information. These exemptions are set out in the Act. Some key exemptions which may be used relate to: Personal information (other than information relating to the person making the request); Information supplied to Sunbeam House Services in confidence; Law enforcement and public safety; Commercially sensitive information; Deliberations of Public bodies; Matters subject to Client Privilege; Functions and negotiations of Public bodies.