Freedom of Information Act 1997
The Freedom of Information (FOI) Act has as its broad purpose the conferring of rights on 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.
A person can seek information from any public body covered by the FOI Act by sending a written request to that body.
The Act provides that requests must specify that they are under the FOI Act and be clear enough to enable the public body to identify the records sought.
Public bodies will normally have up to four weeks in which to respond to a request.
In the context of public procurement contracts it should be noted that the Act provides that certain information, whether obtained in confidence or being of a commercially sensitive nature, may or may not be disclosed to a requestor. This depends on the circumstances involved.
Suppliers should therefore ascertain what if any contract-related information a contracting authority intends to disclose, if requested under FOI.
Also, suppliers should consider if any of the information supplied by them in relation to a tender should not be disclosed because of its sensitivity.
Suppliers should convey this to the public body involved at the first opportunity, giving their reasons.
A large number of public bodies have already come within the scope of the FOI Act.
These include the following:
All decisions on which public bodies are to be brought within the scope of the FOI Act rest solely with the Minister for Finance.
If a business is unsuccessful in a tender and they want to find out why, public sector bodies must give you the feedback within 15 days if requested. information about the contract is subject to the FOI act, so that businesses have the right to ask for detailed information about the bidding process (though businesses may have to pay for this).
Full details of bodies subject to the FOI Act and other information relating to the FOI Act can be found on the Irish Government website.
