Freedom of Information (FoI)
The Freedom of Information (FOI) Act 2014 governs access to information held by public bodies, including the Legal Aid Board.
The FOI legislation provides that every person has the following legal rights:
- to have personal information held on them altered, added, or deleted where such information is incomplete, incorrect, or misleading; and
- to be given reasons for decisions taken by public bodies that affect them; and
- to access official records held by public bodies covered by the Act.
These rights can be exercised by a parent or guardian in respect of a minor or a person with a disability and by the next of kin or personal representative of a deceased person (subject to guidelines published from time to time by the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform.
These rights mean that a person can seek access to personal information held by the Board, no matter when the information was created, and to other records created by the Board after 21 April 1998. The Board became subject to FOI on 1 June 2002.
Routinely Available Information
The Board routinely makes available to the public information on its functions and activities. Such information is available via its website www.legalaidboard.ie without the need to rely on the FOI Act.
The FOI Act is designed to facilitate public access to information held by public bodies that is not routinely available through other sources. Such access is subject to certain limitations, exemptions, timelines and requirements.
Reviews
The FOI Act provides for internal reviews of decisions made by the Legal Aid Board on FOI requests. If still not satisfied with that Legal Aid Board decision, the Act also provides for a further review by the Office of the Information Commissioner.
Office of the Information Commissioner
6 Earlsfort Terrace, Dublin 2 D02 W773
Email: info@oic.ie
Telephone: 01-6395689
Publication Scheme
Section 8 of the FOI Act 2014 requires the Board to publish a Publication Scheme.
The Scheme details information on the Board and what records it makes available. The Scheme must be updated annually.
Purpose of the Scheme
The Scheme commits the Board to prepare and publish as much information as possible in an open and accessible manner, on a routine basis, outside FOI. The Scheme reflects the FOI principles of openness, transparency and accountability, provided that publication or giving of access to records is not prohibited by law.
The Act requires that in preparing, reviewing or revising this publication scheme, the Board shall have regard to the public interest in:
- allowing public access to records held by the Board;
- the publication of reasons for decisions made by the Board; and publishing information of relevance or interest to the public in relation to its general activities and functions.
The information contained in the Board’s publication scheme is set out in the table below in line with Government guidance. The scheme is web-based with links from it to relevant information in each heading. A hardcopy of the Scheme is also available for viewing at the Legal Aid Board headquarters by prior appointment.
The Freedom of Information Publication Scheme for the Legal Aid Board is below.
| A. Information about the Legal Aid Board | B. Services provided or to be provided by the Board | C. Decision Making process for major policy proposals |
| D. Financial Information | E. Procurement |
F. FOI Disclosure Log and Other Information to be Published Routinely |
A request to the Board under the FOI Act 2014 must be sent to the Board’s Freedom of Information Section.
A person making a FOI request must:
- submit the request in writing;
- specify that the request is being made under the FOI Act;
- be clear about what records are being requested (type, dates, etc.); and
- clarify if they require the records in a particular manner.
Under the FOI Act, the Legal Aid Board can assist a requester word their request.
Please Note:
- The FOI Section will acknowledge all requests and provide further information on the request process.
- A decision on a request is normally made no later than 20 working days from its receipt.
- The Legal Aid Board publishes the decisions made on non-personal FOI requests through its Disclosure Log. If you are considering submitting a request for information, it may be useful to review both the Publication Scheme and the Disclosure Log, as the information you require may already be available there.
Contact Details
For any enquiries or assistance regarding Freedom of Information requests, please do not hesitate to contact us:
Freedom of Information Section
Email: foi@LegalAidBoard.ie
Address:
Legal Aid Board
Quay Street,
Cahirciveen,
Co. Kerry.
V23 RD36
|
|
Search and Retrieval |
Photocopying fee |
Photocopy fee Colour |
USB Key |
|
Standard fee* |
€20 p/hr |
€0.04 per sheet |
€0.15 per sheet |
€10.00 |
*Reduced fee of €6 p/hr. applies to medical card holders or their dependants.
All fees must be paid before the information is released.
No fees will be charged where a request:
- Contains only personal data;
- Are not decided within two months; and
- Where the Legal Aid Board does not possess the information sought.
Please Note:
- The FOI Section will acknowledge all AIE requests and provide further information on the request process.
- A decision on a request is normally made no later than one month from its receipt.
- The Legal Aid Board publishes the decisions made on non-personal AIE requests through its Disclosure Log. If you are considering submitting a request for information, it may be useful to review the Disclosure Log, as the information you require may already be available there.
The Legal Aid Board FOI Disclosure Log of all non-personal data requests received is made available here in line with DPENDR Guidance. To support Open Data, the Disclosure Log is published in CSV format.