Freedom of Information

Our Lady’s Hospice & care Services will seek to protect the privacy of individuals and information supplied in confidence, however, in certain circumstances it may be in the public interest to release such information.

Requests

Requests can be made in writing to:

Freedom of Information Officer,                                

Our Lady’s Hospice & Care Services,

Harold’s Cross, Dublin 6W.

E-mail: ppierce@olh.ie 

Or by completing and returning a request form (below). Your request should include the following:

• A statement that the request is being made under the FOI Act;
• As much information as possible about the records being sought;
• In what format you wish to receive the records (i.e. photocopies).

If you require any advice on how best to frame your request please contact the FOI Officer at, Tel: (01) 4068725 / E-mail: ppierce@olh.ie.

A requester does not have to give a reason as to why they want to see any records.  Our Lady’s Hospice & Care Services must give an explanation if a request is being refused or partially refused.

Costs, if any

There is no charge for submitting a request.  In respect of non-personal requests, other charges may be applied for the time spent finding records and for any reproduction costs incurred by the Hospice in providing you with the material requested (search, retrieval and copying charges).  Where the cost of the search, retrieval and copying is less than €101, no fee is charged.  Where the cost is greater than €500, but less than €700, a maximum charge of €500 applies.  Where the cost is greater than €700, the Hospice can refuse to process the request.  Details of charges relating to your request will be notified to you in writing.  The preference for payment of fees is by way of Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT).  Please contact the FOI Office for bank details.  A list of relevant fees is set out below:

• Submitting a request – No charge
• Search and Retrieval – €20 per hour
• Photocopying – €0.40 per sheet
• Internal Review – €30 (€10 for Medical Card holders)
• Appeal to Information Commissioner – €50 (€15 for Medical Card holders)

Note – there is no charge if the records concerned contain only personal information relating to the applicant, unless there are a significant number of records.  If you are claiming a reduced application fee, the request must be accompanied by the Medical Card registration number, issuing Health Authority name and your consent to the verification of these details with that Health Authority.

Appeals

You may appeal any decision issued by the Hospice by writing to:

The Internal Reviewer,

Freedom of Information Office,

Our Lady’s Hospice & Care Services,

Harold’s Cross,

Dublin 6W.

Your request should state that you are seeking an internal review of the matter.  A fee of €30 (€10 for Medical Card holders) may apply for such an appeal.  There is no charge for internal review applications concerning only personal information, or in relation to a decision to impose a fee or deposit.

You should make your appeal within 4 weeks from the date of response (although late appeals may be permitted in certain circumstances).  The appeal will involve a complete reconsideration of the matter by a more senior member of staff of the Hospice and a decision will be communicated to you within 3 weeks.

Appeal the decision of Internal Review

You may appeal the decision of Internal Review within 6 months by writing to the Office of the Information Commissioner.  If you make an appeal, the Information Commissioner will fully investigate and consider the matter, and issue a fresh decision.  All appeals should be addressed to:

The Information Commissioner,

18 Lower Leeson Street,

Dublin 2.

E-mail: info@oic.ie

Tel: (01) 6395689 / 1890 223030

A fee of €50 (€15 for Medical Card holders) may apply for such an application.  Again, there is no charge for appeals to the Office of the Information Commissioner concerning only personal information, or in relation to a decision to impose a fee or deposit.

Other sources of accessing information –

Our Lady’s Hospice & Care Services routinely makes information available to the public through information leaflets, publications, its website and in response to queries.   FOI provides an additional source of information by facilitating access to records not routinely available.