Introduction
The Freedom of Information (FOI) Acts 1997 and 2003 provide three main statutory rights:
- a legal right for each person to access information held by public bodies;
- a legal right for each person to have official information relating to him/herself amended where it is incomplete, incorrect or misleading;
- a legal right to obtain reasons for decisions affecting oneself.
The Acts assert 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.
It is important to be aware that Section 46(1) of the Freedom of Information Act, as amended by Section 74 of the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005, provides that this Act does not apply to:
(dc) a record held or created under the relevant statutory provisions by the Health and Safety Authority of an employee of the Authority, relating to or arising from its enforcement functions (other than a record concerning any other functions of the Authority or the general administration of the Authority).
In other words, only records concerning the general administration of the Authority are disclosable under Freedom of Information legislation. Therefore, access to information under the Freedom of Information Act does not extend to, for example, records relating to the investigation of accidents.
This manual is prepared in accordance with the publication requirements set out in Section 15 of the Acts.