Freedom of Information (FOI)

These pages are intended to assist you in exercising your rights under the Freedom of Information Act 2014 and to assist Tipperary Education and Training Board in answering Freedom of Information Requests. Under Irish Freedom of Information Legislation every person has the following legal rights:

  • the right to access official records held by public bodies prescribed under the Act;
  • 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 public bodies that affect them.

If you would like to exercise one or more of these rights in relation to information that may be held by Tipperary Education and Training  Board, please click here for details of How to Make a Freedom of Information Request.

This website makes a range of information about Tipperary ETB available within a Publication Scheme and also provides a Disclosure Log detailing FOI Requests processed by TETB since January 2015.

Freedom of Information Act 2014

The Freedom of Information Act 2014 is an Act to enable members of the public to obtain access, to the greatest extent possible consistent with the public interest and the right of privacy, to information in the possession of public bodies, and certain other bodies.

Tipperary Education and Training Board are now included under the Freedom of Information Act 2014 as and from Tuesday 14th April, 2015.

Entitlements under the FOI Acts:

  • Receipt of your request must be acknowledged within 10 working days;
  • A response will, in normal circumstances, be issued within 20 working days of receipt of a valid request;
  • All decisions must be clearly explained, setting out the sections of the Act used in reaching these decisions;
  • Details of your entitlements to Internal Review and appeal will be included in the decision letter.

The Freedom of Information Act was introduced to:

  • Increase openness;
  • Improve accountability;
  • Increase public appreciation of issues involved in policy decisions;
  • Give stronger public ownership and acceptance of decisions made;
  • Permit people access to their records and allow them to amend records if incorrect.

The Act sets out three new legal rights: –

  • A legal right for each person to access information of a personal or non-personal nature held by public bodies;
  • A legal right to have official information relating to him/her amended where it is incomplete, incorrect or misleading;
  • A legal right to seek reasons for decisions that affect him/her;

These rights extend to an individual’s own records and in specific circumstances, to those of their children and deceased relatives. There are exemptions provided for in the Acts, this means that there are specific circumstances when the requested information will not be released, e.g. to protect confidentiality. If any of these exemptions are used to withhold information, the reasons will be clearly explained.

FAQs and Glossary and the Links under the Useful Links menu at the side of this page both provide further information which may help to answer some of your questions. If, however, you have any remaining queries please do not hesitate to Contact Us.

FOI Downloads

Freedom of Information Act 2014
http://foi.gov.ie/regulations/freedom-of-information-act-fees-no-2-regulations-2014/
http://foi.gov.ie/faqs/
Office Of The Information Commissioner | OIC

Access to Personal and Non-Personal Information

An individual has the right to access both Personal and Non Personal Information held by Tipperary Education and Training Board via the following methods:

Administrative Access Policy

Please note the following information and our ‘Administrative Access Policy’ is currently under review and will be updated shortly.

Under Administrative Access all appropriate information will be made available to the requester having regard to privacy, confidentiality and the public interest. As a matter of policy, the Tipperary Education and Training Board supports an individual’s right to see what information is held about them within its service.  Generally, access to an individual’s own records should be provided administratively (subject to exceptions).

Personal Information

An individual must apply in writing to the appropriate School/Centre or Administrative Office. They must provide sufficient information to assist in locating their records, including; date of birth, current and previous addresses, any contacts they had with specific services and approximate dates. TETB will need to verify by appropriate means the identity of an individual. They may be asked for proof of identity, for example providing a copy of current passport or driver’s license (or other suitable identification). This is in order to protect confidentiality.   There will usually be no charge for copies of personal records. However, Tipperary Education and Training Board have the right to charge, if the quantity of records is very large, for photocopying. (See scale of charges within the Access to Information Section under FOI).

Non-Personal Information

Tipperary Educational and Training Board will endeavour to make available to the public up to date details of the policies and procedures under which it operates. This information will be published on our website and may also be made available to individuals on request. A requester may seek access to non-personal information and Tipperary Education and Training Board will process this request under this policy. An individual must apply in writing to the appropriate School/Centre or Administrative Office.

Exceptions

Where access to a record or information cannot be provided to you directly under administrative access, you will be informed of this and advised of the option of making an application under the FOI Act 2014.   Likewise, certain information may be of such a sensitive nature that requests for access can only be dealt with under the FOI legislation.

Other Mechanisms for Access to Records

Information and Records are the property of the agency of which they are held, i.e. the Tipperary Education and Training Board and are kept under strict security and apart from the circumstances above, may only be removed from the Tipperary Education and Training Board under the following conditions: –

  • Upon a Court Subpoena;
  • Search Warrant;
  • Court Orders;
  • Police Investigations;
  • Request and/or Investigation by the Information Commissioner or Ombudsman;
  • By an Officer authorised in writing by the Minister.

Current statutory provisions in Education/Health legislation may apply to disclosure of information. Therefore, the release of such records/information will be made on the grounds of public interest and on the basis of upholding, enforcing and/or administering the law.

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