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Your Rights to Information

Your Rights to Information

Freedom of Information

The Freedom of Information Act asserts the right of members of the public to obtain access to official information to the greatest extent possible consistent with the public interest and the right to privacy of individuals.

You Have the Right to:

You are entitled to apply for access to information not otherwise publicly available.

  • access to the following records held by or under the control of Galway County Council, unless such records are exempted under the Act.
  • all records created after commencement of this Act, i.e. 21st October, 1998.
  • such records created before that date as may be required to understand records created after commencement of the Act.
  • personal records regardless of when created.
  • if you are a staff member, personnel records created from a date 3 years before commencement of the Act.
  • access to reasons for decisions made by Galway County Council directly affecting yourself. seek correction of personal information relating to you, held by Galway County Council, where it is inaccurate, incomplete or misleading.

How To Get Information Under The Freedom Of Information Act

Apply online or...

Applications for information under this Act should be addressed to:

Freedom of Information Officer,
Galway County Council,
Prospect Hill,
Galway.

Phone: (091) 509000
Fax: (091) 509010
Email: foi@galwaycoco.ie   

Your request should preferably be made on the official Freedom of Information application form.     Requests made other than on the Freedom of Information application form should indicate that information is sought under the Freedom of Information Act.    GCC-Freedom of Information Application Form

If you wish to receive the information in any particular form, e.g. photocopy, electronic form, etc., you should indicate this in your request.

Please give as much detail as possible to enable the Council to identify the records to which you require access.

If you have difficulty in identifying the precise records which you require, the Council will be happy to assist you in preparing your request.

The Council must issue an acknowledgement of your request within two weeks of receiving it and make a decision on your request within four weeks of receiving it unless the request relates to such number of records that compliance within the specified time is not reasonably possible, in which case, a time extension not exceeding a further four weeks may be allowed.   You must be notified of the period of the time extension required and the reasons therefore.

Fees

No initial application fee applies.

In some circumstances, you may be charged a fee for the "search and retrieval" of records, the cost of photocopying documents and postage (if you wish printed records to be sent to you) for requests for non-personal information under Section 27 of the Act.

If the cost of search, retrieval and copying is €101 or less, no charge is applied. If the charge exceeds €101, full fees apply. The maximum charge applied for a request is €500.

If the estimated cost of search, retrieval and copying is more than €700 the body can refuse to process your request, unless you refine your request to bring the search, retrieval and copying fees below this limit.

 

Galway County Council has set the following charges:

Search, retrieval and copying of records: €20.00 per hour

Photocopy: €0.04 per sheet

 

Right of Review & Appeal

The Freedom of Information Act sets out appeal mechanisms in the event of a refusal of a request, or in relation to deferral of access, charges, form of access, etc. Details of these appeal mechanisms are as follows:

Internal Review
You may seek Internal Review of the initial decision, which will be carried out by an official of the Council at a higher level if:

  • you are dissatisfied with the initial response received, i.e. refusal of information, form of access, charges, etc., or  
  • you have not received a reply within four weeks of your initial application. This is deemed to be a refusal of your request and allows you to proceed to Internal Review.

Requests for Internal Review should be submitted within four weeks of the initial decision in writing to:

County Secretary,
Galway County Council,
Prospect Hill,
Galway.
Phone: (091) 509000
Fax: (091) 509010
Email: foi@galwaycoco.ie

Galway County Council must complete the review within three weeks. Internal Review must normally be completed before an appeal may be made to the Information Commissioner.

Review by the Information Commissioner

You may seek independent review by the Information Commissioner if:

=> following completion of the Internal Review procedure, you are dissatisfied with the decision; or

=> you have not received a reply to your request for Internal Review within three weeks of your application. This is deemed to be a refusal, and you may appeal the matter to the Commissioner. Appeals in writing may be made directly to the Information
Commissioner at the following address:

Office of the Information Commissioner :
Address: 18 Lower Leeson Street, Dublin 2.
Phone: +353-1-639 5689
Lo-call: 1890 253238
Fax: +353-1-639 5674 or +353-1-6395676
Email:info@oic.gov.ie

Confidentiality

Galway County Council undertakes to hold any information provided to it by individuals or others on a confidential basis, subject to the Council’s obligations under law, including the Freedom of Information Act. If, for any reason, it is wished that information provided to the County Council should not be disclosed because of its sensitive nature, then it is incumbent upon the person or body when supplying the information to make clear this wish and to specify the reasons for the information’s sensitivity. 

Access to Information on the Environment (AIE)

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