Freedom of Information
The Freedom of Information Act, 2014 entitles a member of the public to apply for information held by public bodies. The requested records can be of a personal or non-personal nature.
To submit an FOI request, please email foi@dlrcoco.ie
Please note that if you wish to obtain records of a personal nature then personal identification in the form of a passport, driving licence, social services card or staff identification card must be provided with your application.
The Freedom of Information (FOI) Act, 2014 affirm three legal rights established by its two predecessors (The FOI Act 1997 and the FOI (Amendment) Act 2003):
- everyone is entitled to access information held by public bodies
- everyone is entitled to have official information about them changed when it is incomplete, incorrect or misleading
- everyone is entitled to find out the reasons why decisions were made that affect themselves
The Acts say that people have the right to gain access to official information to the greatest extent possible, consistent with the public interest and the right to privacy of individuals.
FAQ
You can request access to personal information held by Dún-Laoghaire Rathdown County Council about you regardless of when the information was created.
You can also gain access to other non-personal records created after 21st October 1998.
Some records are not immediately available under the FOI Act. Access may be restricted by certain exemptions or involve specific procedures and time limits.
Whilst there is no fee for the initial FOI request, the Council may apply search, retrieval and copying fees, subject to thresholds set out in the Act. Please see the attached document entitled 'Freedom of Information Fees' for more info.
Other Charges
In line with Section 27 of the Act, charges may be applied for the time spent finding records and for any photocopying costs incurred in providing the material requested. Fees will not be charged in respect of personal records, except where a large number of records are involved. Fees for search, retrieval and copying of records are set in accordance with Statutory Instruments No 484 of 2014 as follows:
€ 20 per hour of search retrieval
€ 0.04 per sheet for a photocopy
€ 10 for a CD Rom
Fees and charges paid by money order or cheque should be made payable to Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council.
Reductions and Waivers
A fee in respect of search, retrieval and copying of records will be waived where the cost does not exceed €100.
Requests must be made in writing and delivered by hand, post or email. All requests should be addressed to:
Freedom of Information Officer
Corporate Affairs Department
Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council
County Hall, Marine Road
Dún Laoghaire
Co. Dublin
Email: foi@dlrcoco.ie
You must state that you are requesting the information under the Freedom of Information Acts.
Requests should contain sufficient information to enable us identify the records in question. They should also specify the format in which access to records is sought, for example photocopy of records, viewing of file, email etc.
If you choose to use our FOI Application Form please find it attached under the Related Documents heading above
Contact us at foi@dlrcoco.ie