Decisions of the Information Commissioner

The Senior Investigator affirmed the decision of the Department.

The Senior Investigator affirmed the Council’s decision. She found that section 15(1)(a) of the FOI Act applies to the applicant’s request insofar as it relates to additional records.

The Senior Investigator varied the Department's decision. She affirmed its decision to refuse certain records under section 30(1)(c) of the FOI Act. She annulled its decision to refuse the remaining records and directed their release.

The Senior Investigator affirmed the decision of the HSE.

The Senior Investigator affirmed the decision of the HSE. She found that it was not required to go beyond reasonable steps, as set out in section 17(4) of the FOI Act, to fulfil the applicant’s request. She also found that section 36 applied to much of the information sought and that, on balance, the public interest did not weigh in favour of the release of this information. She also found that the public interest in openness and accountability was met to some extent by the information already provided to the applicant.

The Senior Investigator varied the Council’s decision. She found that section 15(1)(a) of the FOI Act applies to the applicant’s request insofar as it relates to additional records. She found that the Council was not justified in refusing access to one record under section 30(1)(a) and she directed its release. Finally, she found that the Council was justified in refusing access to one record under section 31(1)(a) of the Act as that record would be exempt from production in a court on the basis of legal professional privilege.

The Senior Investigator varied the decision. She found that the Council was justified in its decision to refuse access to further records under section 15(1)(a) of the FOI Act, on the basis that they did not exist or cannot be found after reasonable searches. She found that the Council’s decision to refuse access to some withheld information under section 36(1)(b) was justified but directed the release of some parts of the record. She found that certain information in the record is exempt on the basis of section 37(1) of the FOI Act, since it is the personal information of individuals other than the applicant. She found that the public interest in granting the request did not outweigh the public interest in upholding the privacy rights of those individuals.

The Senior Investigator found that Revenue was not justified in its decision to extend the period for consideration of the applicant’s FOI request

The Senior Investigator affirmed the decision of the SEC.

The Senior Investigator affirmed the decision of the Council to refuse access to the records sought under section 15(1)(a) of the FOI Act.