Freedom of Information - Marino Institute of Education

Introduction

The Freedom of Information Act 2014, which repealed previous 1997 and 2003 Acts, introduced a number of changes to the Freedom of Information (FOI) scheme, and widened the range of bodies to which the FOI legislation applies to all public bodies, unless specifically exempt.

It provides that every person has the following legal rights:

the right to access official records held by public bodies prescribed under the Act (FOI bodies);
the right to have personal information held on them corrected or updated where such information is incomplete, incorrect or misleading; and
the right to be given reasons for decisions taken by FOI bodies that affect them.

Any person may make an FOI request under the Act and, normally, the public body in question must respond within 4 weeks after acknowledging the request. In the case of large and/or complex requests, this timeframe may be extended by a further 4 weeks.

FOI at MIE

At MIE, FOI requests are sent to [email protected], and are processed by the relevant MIE department(s). Following retrieval and examination of the requested records the FOI Officer, as Decision Maker, may grant full access to the information requested, or may refuse access to some or all of the information requested based on specific grounds detailed within the Act.

Under the Act, the person who has requested the information has the right to appeal an FOI body's decision – firstly to an Internal Reviewer. and then to the Office of the Information Commissioner if the decision is still considered to be unsatisfactory. The Information Commissioner's decision in this instance is binding.

How to make a request

FOI requests should be submitted by email to [email protected].

Please note that a large amount of information about MIE is publicly available without the requirement for a Freedom of Information request. Those seeking information should first refer to the MIE website, where a range of links to various programmes, departments, resources, etc are available.

FAQs

What is Freedom of Information (FOI)?

The Freedom of Information Act 2014 gives you the right to access records held by FOI bodies, such as MIE.

The decision regarding the information to be provided is normally made within 4 weeks, and requesters must receive an explanation regarding any information not provided.

What can I ask for?

You may ask for any of the following:

records relating to you personally, whenever created
other records created after the effective date.

What is a record?

A record includes a book or other written or printed material which is in any form including in any electronic device. It is a map, plan or drawing, a disc, tape or film which contains visual or non-visual images or a copy of any of these.

Do I have to pay to get information under FOI?

There are no charges unless the request for personal information involves a significant number of records.

In the case of requests that relate to non-personal information, certain charges are applied for search, retrieval, and copying (ref FOI Act Section 27(2)).

Can I appeal a decision?

Yes. If you are not satisfied with the decision made by MIE, you may seek an internal review of the decision, which is a complete and new review of your request by someone more senior in the organisation. Following this, if you are still not satisfied you can appeal this decision to the Office of the Information Commissioner.

Information Commissioner

The main functions of the Office of the Information Commissioner (OIC) include

the review of the decisions of public bodies in relation to FOI requests and, where necessary, the making of binding, new decisions;
the review of the operation of the Freedom of Information Act 2014 to ensure that public bodies comply with their provisions;
the fostering an attitude of openness among public bodies by the encouragement of the voluntary publication of information above and beyond the minimum requirements of the Acts;
the preparation and publication of commentaries on the practical operation of the Acts; and
the publication of an Annual Report.

Policies

MIE’s policies and related documents are updated on a regular basis, in accordance with current legislation.

FOI Disclosure Log

The Freedom of Information Act 2014 requires FOI bodies, such as MIE, to publish a disclosure log, which contains details of all non-personal FOI requests received under FOI, and the decisions made by the body in response to those requests.

Disclosures are listed in the log in order of the date the request was received by MIE.

Please note that, for data privacy reasons, identifying information such as the name of the requester is not included in the disclosure log.

MIE---FOI-Disclosures-Log_2021.pdf (size 437 KB)

MIE---FOI-Disclosures-Log_2020.pdf (size 415.5 KB)

Freedom of Information (FOI) Officer

All queries to MIE regarding FOI should be directed to:

Eileen Jackson,

Freedom of Information (FOI) Officer,

Marino Institute of Education,

Griffith Avenue,

Dublin 9,

D09 R232.

Email: [email protected]

Telephone: 01 853 5114

Legislation and Regulation

The most recent FOI legislation and regulation for Ireland include