STATUTORY INSTRUMENTS

S.I. No. 264 of 2003

Freedom of Information Act 1997 (Fees) Regulations 2003

I, Charlie McCreevy, Minister for Finance in exercise of the powers conferred on me by sections 3, 34(1)(c) and 47 of No. 13 of 1997 ), hereby make the following Regulations:

1.         (1)       These Regulations may be cited as the Freedom of Information Act 1997 (Fees) Regulations 2003.

(2)       These Regulations come into operation on 7 July 2003.

2.         In these Regulations a reference to a section is a reference to that section of No.13 of 1997 ) and, save where the context otherwise requires, a reference to a paragraph is a reference to a paragraph of the Regulation in which the reference occurs.

3.         (1)       Subject to paragraph (4) (a), a fee of €15.00 is prescribed for the purposes of paragraph (a) of section 47(6A) in respect of a person who makes a request under section 7.

(2)       Subject to paragraph (4) (b), a fee of €75.00 is prescribed for the purposes of paragraph (a) of section 47(6A) in respect of a person who makes an application under section 14, not being

(a)        an application in relation to a decision under section 17 or 18, or

(b)        an application in relation to a decision to charge a fee or deposit, or a fee or deposit of a particular amount, under section 47.

(3)       Subject to paragraph (4)(c), a fee of €150.00 is prescribed for the purposes of paragraph (a) of section 47(6A) in respect of a person who makes an application under section 34, not being an application in relation to

(a)        a decision under section 14 relating to a decision under section 17 or 18,

(b)        a decision made by a head under section 17 or 18, or

(c)        a decision under section 14, or a decision under section 47, that a fee or deposit of an amount prescribed under Regulation 4 of these Regulations should be charged under section 47.

(4)       (a)        In respect of persons referred to in paragraph (1) who are

(i)        medical card holders, or

(ii)       dependants of medical card holders,

the amount of the fee referred to in paragraph (1) is prescribed as the amount specified in that paragraph less €5.

(b)       In respect of persons referred to in paragraph (2) who are

(i)        medical card holders, or

(ii)       dependants of medical card holders,

the amount of the fee referred to in paragraph (2) is prescribed as the amount specified in that paragraph less €50.

(c)        In respect of persons referred to in paragraph (3) who are

(i)         medical card holders,

(ii)        dependants of medical card holders, or

(iii)       persons specified in paragraph (a) or (b) of section 29(2),

the amount of the fee referred to in paragraph (3) is prescribed as the amount specified in that paragraph less €100.

(5)       In this Regulation

“dependant of a medical card holder” means a person

(a)       by or in respect of whom it has been established, to the satisfaction of a health board, that he or she is a dependant of a medical card holder and by or in respect of whom that fact has been established to the satisfaction of the head concerned, and

(b)       by or in respect of whom, in the opinion of the head, the request or, as the case may be, the application, concerned is not being made on behalf of some other person who, in the opinion of the head, is seeking to avoid the payment of a fee of the amount specified in paragraph (1), (2) or (3).

“health board” includes an Area Health Board (within the meaning of the Health (Eastern Region Health Authority) Act 1999);

“medical card holder” means a person who

(a)       has established, to the satisfaction of a health board, that he or she has full eligibility for health services (within the meaning of the Health Act 1970 ) and has established that fact to the satisfaction of the head concerned, and

(b)       in the opinion of the head, is not making the request or, as the case may be, the application, concerned on behalf of some other person who, in the opinion of the head, is seeking to avoid the payment of a fee of the amount specified in paragraph (1), (2) or (3).

4.         (1)       The following amounts are prescribed for the purposes of section 34(1((c):

(a)       €25.00 in relation to a fee determined under subsection (2) of section 47 or a deposit determined under subsection (7) of that section, and

(b)        a specified amount in relation to a fee, or a fee of a particular amount, charged under subsection (6A) of that section where

(i)        the record or records concerned does not or do not contain only personal information relating to the requester, or the applicant, concerned, or

(ii)        the requester, or the applicant, concerned is not a medical card holder or a dependant of a medical card holder.

(2)       In subparagraph (b) of paragraph (1) “specified amount” means the amount of the fee, or the fee of a particular amount, referred to in that subparagraph less one euro.

5.         Where a fee prescribed by these Regulations is paid and, subsequently, the request under section 7 or, as the case may be, the application under section 14 or 34 is withdrawn under section 7(8), 14(8) or 34(5), the amount of the fee shall be repaid.

6.         A head shall have regard to any guidelines, relevant to these Regulations, drawn up and published by the Minister.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Instrument and does not purport to be a legal interpretation.)

These regulations prescribe amounts of fees for the purposes of sections 47 and 34(1)(c) of No. 13 of 1997 ) in respect of requests made under section 7 of that Act for non-personal information and in respect of certain applications for review of decisions of public bodies under sections 14 and 34.