FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT, 1997 (1997_act_13) | IE

ISB Act 1997-04-21

Schedule 1 FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT, 1997 Open official source

FIRST SCHEDULE Public Bodies

Public Bodies

Section 2.

1. Each of the following shall be a public body for the purposes of this Act

(1) the Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry,

the Department of Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht,

the Department of Defence,

the Department of Education,

the Department of Enterprise and Employment,

the Department of the Environment,

the Department of Equality and Law Reform,

the Department of Finance,

the Department of Foreign Affairs,

the Department of Health,

the Department of Justice (including the Probation and Welfare Service),

the Department of the Marine,

the Department of Social Welfare,

the Department of the Taoiseach,

the Department of Tourism and Trade,

the Department of Transport, Energy and Communications,

the Office of the Tánaiste,

the Office of the Attorney General.

(2) the Army Pensions Board,

the Blood Transfusion Service Board,

the Board of the National Library of Ireland,

the Board of the National Museum of Ireland,

An Bord Pleanála,

the Censorship of Publications Board,

the Central Statistics Office,

the Civil Service Commissioners,

An Coimisiún Logainmneacha,

An Comhairle na Nimheanna,

An Comhairle na nOspidéal,

the Commissioners of Charitable Donations and Bequests,

the Companies Registration Office,

the Competition Authority,

the Commissioners of Public Works,

the Defence Forces,

the Employment Equality Agency,

the Environmental Information Service,

the Environmental Protection Agency,

the Government Information Services,

the Heritage Council,

the Ireland — United States Commission for Educational Exchange,

the Irish Manuscripts Commission,

the Irish Medicines Board,

the Irish Sports Council,

the Land Registry,

the Local Appointments Commissioners,

the National Archives,

the National Archives Advisory Council,

the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment,

the National Gallery of Ireland,

the Office of the Appeal Commissioners for the purposes of

the Tax Acts,

the Office of the Chief Medical Officer for the Civil Service,

the Office of the Commissioner,

the Office of the Commissioner of Valuation and Boundary Surveyor for Ireland,

the Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General,

the Office of the Director of Consumer Affairs,

the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions,

the Office of the Houses of the Oireachtas,

the Office of the Official Censor of Films,

the Office of the Ombudsman,

the Office of the Registrar of Friendly Societies,

the Patents Office,

the Pensions Board,

the Public Offices Commission,

the Registry of Deeds,

the Revenue Commissioners,

the Social Welfare Appeals Office,

the State Laboratory.

(3) a local authority.

(4) a health board.

(5) any body, organisation or group standing prescribed for the time being, with the consent of such other (if any) Minister of the Government as the Minister considers appropriate having regard to the functions of that other Minister of the Government, and being—

(a) the Garda Siochána,

(b) a body, organisation or group established—

(i) by or under any enactment (other than the Companies Acts, 1963 to 1990) or any scheme administered by a Minister of the Government,

or

(ii) under the Companies Acts, 1963 to 1990, in pursuance of powers conferred by or under another enactment, and financed wholly or partly, whether directly or indirectly, by means of moneys provided, or loans made or guaranteed, by a Minister of the Government or the issue of shares held by or on behalf of a Minister of the Government,

(c) any other body, organisation or group financed as aforesaid,

(d) a company (within the meaning of the Companies Act, 1963) a majority of the shares in which are held by or on behalf of a Minister of the Government,

(e) any other body, organisation or group appointed by the Government or a Minister of the Government,

(f) subject to paragraph 2, any other body, organisation or group on which functions in relation to the general public or a class of the general public stand conferred by any enactment, or

(g) a subsidiary of a body, organisation or group specified in any of the foregoing provisions of this subparagraph.

2. A body, organisation or group standing prescribed pursuant to regulations for the purposes of clause (f) of paragraph 1 (5) shall be a public body only as respects functions referred to in that clause.

3. The Minister may, with the consent of such other (if any) Minister of the Government as the Minister considers appropriate having regard to the functions of that other Minister of the Government, by regulations amend subparagraph (2) of paragraph 1 by the deletion of a reference to any public body.

4. A reference in subparagraph (1) of paragraph 1 to any particular Department of State shall be construed as—

(a) including a reference to a body, organisation or group specified in relation to that Department of State in the Schedule to the Ministers and Secretaries Act, 1924 (not being a public body specified in subparagraph (2) of that paragraph), and

(b) not including any other body, organisation or group.

ISB Act 1997-04-21

Schedule 2 FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT, 1997 Open official source

SECOND SCHEDULE The Information Commissioner

The Information Commissioner

Section 33.

1. Subject to the provisions of this Schedule, a person appointed to be the Commissioner shall hold the office for a term of 6 years and may be re-appointed to the office for a second or subsequent term.

2. A person appointed to be the Commissioner—

(a) may at his or her own request be relieved of office by the President,

(b) may be removed from office by the President but shall not be removed from office except for stated misbehaviour, incapacity or bankruptcy and then only upon resolutions passed by Dáil Éireann and by Seanad Éireann calling for his or her removal,

(c) shall in any case vacate the office on attaining the age of 67 years.

3. (1) Where a person who holds the office of Commissioner is—

(a) nominated as a member of Seanad Éireann,

(b) elected as a member of either House of the Oireachtas or a local authority or to the European Parliament, or

(c) regarded, pursuant to section 15 (inserted by the European Parliament Elections Act, 1993) of the European Assembly Act, 1977, as having been elected to the European Parliament to fill a vacancy,

he or she shall thereupon cease to be the Commissioner.

(2) A person who is for the time being entitled under the standing orders of either House of the Oireachtas to sit therein or who is a member of the European Parliament or a local authority shall, while he or she is so entitled or is such a member, be disqualified for being appointed to be the Commissioner.

4. A person who holds the office of Commissioner shall not hold any other office or employment in respect of which emoluments are payable or be a member of the Reserve Defence Force.

5. The Commissioner shall be paid, out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas, such remuneration and allowances for expenses as the Minister may from time to time determine.

6. (1) The Minister may make and carry out, in accordance with its terms, a scheme or schemes for the granting of pensions, gratuities or allowances on retirement or death to, or in respect of, persons who have held the office of Commissioner.

(2) The Minister may at any time make and carry out, in accordance with its terms, a scheme or schemes amending or revoking a scheme under this paragraph.

(3) A scheme under this paragraph shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas as soon as may be after it is made and, if a resolution annulling the scheme is passed by either such House within the next 21 days on which that House has sat after the scheme is laid before it, the scheme shall be annulled accordingly but without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done thereunder.

7. (1) The Minister may appoint to be members of the staff of the Commissioner such number of persons as the Minister may determine from time to time.

(2) Members of the staff of the Commissioner shall be civil servants in the Civil Service of the State (within the meaning of the Civil Service Regulation Act, 1956).

(3) The Minister may delegate to the Commissioner the powers exercisable by him or her under the Civil Service Commissioners Act, 1956, and the Civil Service Regulation Acts, 1956 and 1958, as the appropriate authority in relation to members of the staff of the Commissioner and, if the Minister does so, then, so long as the delegation remains in force—

(a) those powers shall, in lieu of being exercisable by the Minister, be exercisable by the Commissioner, and

(b) the Commissioner shall, in lieu of the Minister, be for the purposes of this Act the appropriate authority in relation to members of the staff of the Commissioner.

8. (1) The Commissioner shall keep, in such form as may be approved of by the Minister, all proper and usual accounts of all moneys received or expended by him or her and all such special accounts (if any) as the Minister may direct.

(2) Accounts kept in pursuance of this paragraph in respect of each year shall be submitted by the Commissioner in the following year on a date not later than a date specified by the Minister to the Comptroller and Auditor General for audit and, as soon as may be after the audit, a copy of those accounts, or of such extracts from those accounts as the Minister may specify, together with the report of the Comptroller and Auditor General on the accounts, shall be presented by the Commissioner to the Minister who shall cause copies of the documents presented to him or her to be laid before each House of the Oireachtas.

9. The Commissioner may delegate to a member of the staff of the Commissioner any of the functions of the Commissioner (other than those under this paragraph or section 40) and subsections (2) to (4) of section 4 shall, with any necessary modifications, have effect for the purposes of a delegation under this paragraph as they have effect for the purposes of a delegation under that section; and references in this Act to the Commissioner shall be construed, where appropriate having regard to any delegation under this paragraph, as including references to any person to whom functions stand delegated by the delegation.

ISB Act 1997-04-21

Schedule 3 FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT, 1997 Open official source

THIRD SCHEDULE Enactments Excluded from Application of Section 32.

Enactments Excluded from Application of Section 32.

Section 32.

PART I Statutes

PART I

Statutes

Number and Year

Short Title

Provision

No. 26 of 1946

Industrial Relations Act, 1946.

Section 22.

No. 1 of 1963

Official Secrets Act, 1963.

Sections 4, 5 and 9.

No. 14 of 1969

Industrial Relations Act, 1969.

Section 14.

No. 30 of 1976

Gas Act, 1976.

Section 20.

No. 16 of 1977

Employment Equality Act, 1977.

Section 43(5).

No. 5 of 1979

Údarás na Gaeltachta Act, 1979.

Section 15.

No. 36 of 1980

Irish Film Board Act, 1980.

Section 18.

No. 26 of 1983

Postal and Telecommunications Services Act, 1983.

Section 37.

No. 28 of 1983

Local Government (Planning and Development) Act, 1983.

Section 13.

No. 2 of 1984

National Social Services Board Act, 1984.

Section 16.

No. 9 of 1986

Industrial Development Act, 1986.

Sections 42 and 43.

No. 14 of 1986

Combat Poverty Agency Act, 1986.

Section 20.

No. 31 of 1986

Transport (Re-organisation of Córas Iompair Éireann) Act, 1986.

Section 22.

No. 10 of 1987

Labour Services Act, 1987.

Section 13.

No. 31 of 1987

Restrictive Practices (Amendment) Act, 1987.

Section 36.

No. 18 of 1988

Agriculture (Research, Training and Advice) Act, 1988.

Section 14.

No. 26 of 1988

Forestry Act, 1988.

Section 33.

No. 7 of 1989

Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act, 1989.

Section 45.

No. 1 of 1990

Bord Glas Act, 1990.

Section 23.

No. 18 of 1990

National Treasury Management Agency Act, 1990.

Section 14.

No. 19 of 1990

Industrial Relations Act, 1990.

Section 25(6).

No. 25 of 1990

Pensions Act, 1990.

Section 24.

No. 2 of 1991

Marine Institute Act, 1991.

Section 15.

No. 9 of 1991

Radiological Protection Act, 1991.

Section 36(1)(d).

No. 22 of 1991

Trade and Marketing Promotion Act, 1991.

Section 10.

No. 24 of 1991

Competition Act, 1991.

Paragraph 9 of Schedule.

No. 7 of 1992

Environmental Protection Agency Act, 1992.

Section 39.

No. 14 of 1993

Roads Act, 1993.

Section 38.

No. 19 of 1993

Industrial Development Act, 1993.

Paragraphs 4 and 5 of Second Schedule.

No. 27 of 1993

Irish Aviation Authority Act, 1993.

Section 35.

No. 18 of 1994

Irish Horseracing Industry Act, 1994.

Section 17.

No. 25 of 1994

Milk (Regulation of Supply) Act, 1994.

Section 16(1).

No. 29 of 1995

Irish Medicines Board Act, 1995.

Section 23.

No. 4 of 1996

Voluntary Health Insurance (Amendment) Act, 1996.

Section 8.

No. 11 of 1996

Harbours Act, 1996.

Section 33.

No. 21 of 1996

An Bord Bia Act, 1996.

Section 26.

PART II Statutory Instruments

PART II

Statutory Instruments

Number and Year

Short Title

Provision

No. 222 of 1983

Housing (Rent Tribunal) Regulations, 1983.

Article 14(3).

No. 175 of 1983

Fire Services Council (Establishment) Order, 1983.

Article 13.

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT, 1997

Statutory Text (3 Articles)

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