Freedom of Information

The Freedom of Information Act 2014 (FOI Act) is a statutory right conferred on all members of the public to access records held by public bodies including the Medical Council, while balancing the public interest and the right to privacy of individuals.

In line with the FOI Act, the Medical Council provides information about the organisation and its activities via the Publication Scheme and also provides access to the decisions made on requests for non-personal information through a Decision Log.

If you are considering submitting a request for information, it may be useful to review both the Publication Scheme and the Decision Log in advance, as the information you require may already be available on these pages.

When making your FOI request, you should state that you are making your request under the FOI Act. Your request should be as detailed as possible to assist us in identifying the relevant records and, if possible, include the time-period to which the records relate.

Below are several frequently asked questions that may help you in making your FOI request, as well as answering questions regarding what information you are entitled to access under the FOI Act.

1. What information do I have access to under a FOI request?

Answer:

Any official information held by public bodies can be sought under the FOI Act. This can include reports, meeting minutes, correspondence and other records. You can also request your personal information in the form of registration or complaint files.

There are some exemptions to the right of access under the FOI Act. Depending on the subject matter and nature of the record requested, it will sometimes be necessary to exempt certain types of information from release in some circumstances. These are set out in detail in Part 4 of the FOI Act.

The key exemptions include;

• Section 37 Personal information
• Section 29 Deliberations of FOI bodies
• Section 30 Functions and negotiations of FOI bodies

2. How do I make an FOI Request and what information should I include?

Answer:

An FOI request should be made in writing to the Medical Council. It can be made by an individual or their representative such as a solicitor, subject to them having the necessary authority. Where the request relates to personal information, we will need to be satisfied that the person making the request is entitled to act on your behalf, meaning we require a signed letter of authority from you, along with a copy of your passport or driving license. If you are making a request under section 37(8) on behalf of a deceased individual or as a parent or guardian, please have regard to the relevant guidelines published by the Central Policy Unit. You will be required to provide additional details to act on an individual’s behalf. Guidance on the categories of requester and evidence required is available here.

FOI requests should be submitted to:

Via Email	Via Post
foi@mcirl.ie	FAO: FOI Officer Medical Council Kingram House, Kingram Place, Dublin 2 D02 XY88

If you wish to submit an application by post, we encourage you to include an email address or telephone number to avoid any potential delays in acknowledging and verifying your request where required.

When you make a request, you must specify in writing that the request is being made under the FOI Act. Please give a clear explanation and/or details of the specific records you are looking for. If it is not clear what records are being requested, the Medical Council will assist you in clarifying your request so that the records sought can be identified.
When you are seeking information which is personal, you will be required to supply the appropriate identification, as required by the decision maker. This may include a copy of your photo ID (such as a passport or driving licence), and/or a proof of address (such as a recent copy of a utility bill/ letter addressed to you from Revenue).

An example of the type of details that may be sought;

• Your full name, and names previously used (if applicable)
• Your Medical Council registration number
• Relevant email and/or home addresses
• Complaint reference numbers
• A specific subject matter relevant to the Medical Council
• An approximation of the relevant time period

3. Can I get help in making a request?

Answer:

Yes. If you require any assistance in making a request, the staff in the FOI section will be happy to assist you in the formulation of your request. Contact details are available below.

4. How will I know that you have received my request?

Answer:

The Information Governance Team will send you an email (to the email address provided in your request) to acknowledge that we have received your FOI request. If a hard copy FOI request is received with no email address provided, a written acknowledgment will be issued to the address provided.

5. How quickly will you respond to a request for information?

Answer:

All FOI requests will be responded to in line with Section 12 of the Act. The standard timeline and associated process is set out below.

Timeline	Action
Week 1	The Medical Council will send you an email or letter to acknowledge that we have received your request. We will acknowledge your request within one week or 5 working days.
Week 2	If the Medical Council requires additional information to clarify any aspect of your request, we will contact you.
Week 4	We will provide you with a decision letter and any available records OR a Refusal Notice within 20 working days.
Extensions	Occasionally the Medical Council might be unable to provide a response to your request within 20 working days. Should this happen, we will proceed in line with Section 14 of the FOI Act. We will write to you in advance of the deadline and inform you of the reasons for the delay, and we will extend the deadline by no more than 4 weeks.

6. Can the Medical Council refuse a request for information?

Answer:

Yes. We may refuse a request for information where:

• The requested has not provided sufficient proof of ID to progress the request
• The record concerned does not exist or cannot be found after all reasonable steps to ascertain its whereabouts have been taken
• The request is so large that retrieving the information would cause an unreasonable disruption to the work of the FOI section
• The request is vexatious, or repetitive
• The information is due to be published by law within 12 weeks of the date of receipt of the request or the intention would be to publish the information no later than 6 weeks from date of receipt of request
• The information requested falls outside the scope, or under one of the exemptions as defined by the FOI Act

Occasionally, the Medical Council will not hold the information requested. If this is the case, we will confirm in writing within 20 working days. When appropriate, we will also give an explanation as to why we do not hold the information, particularly in cases where the information has been deleted in line with a retention schedule.

We also have a duty to provide advice and assistance, so far as it would be reasonable to expect us to do. This could include advising an applicant if information is available elsewhere or assisting them in focusing their request, perhaps by advising of the types of information available within the requested category.

7. What can I do if I am not satisfied with a decision on my request?

Answer:

You may seek an Internal Review of any decision issued in writing or by email. If you decide to seek a review of a decision, you must make the application within 4 weeks from the date of response (although late reviews may be permitted in certain circumstances). The review will involve a complete reconsideration of the matter by a more senior member of staff and a decision will be communicated to you within 3 weeks.

8. What if I am not satisfied with the decision on Internal Review?

Answer:

You may request a review of the decision within six months by writing to the Office of the Information Commissioner. If you request a review, the Information Commissioner will fully investigate and consider the matter and issue a fresh decision. All requests for reviews should be addressed to:

The Information Commissioner,
6 Earlsfort Terrace,
Saint Kevin's,
Dublin 2,
D02 W773
E-mail: info@oic.gov.ie

Online application: https://www.oic.ie/apply-for-a-review/start-application/

9. Where can I get more information on FOI?

Answer:

More comprehensive information on Freedom of Information is available at www.foi.gov.ie.

10. Will I be charged a fee for making a FOI request?

Answer:

There is no fee applicable to FOI requests for personal information. Fees may be charged for non-personal requests, and details on those fees are available below. If a fee does apply to your request, we will contact you in advance to discuss this.

Type of Records	Type of Request	Fee
Personal	FOI	Not applicable
	Internal Review	Not applicable
	Appeal to OIC	Not applicable
Non Personal	FOI - search, retrieval and copying	€101 min, €500 max*
	Internal Review	€30 (€10 for medical card holders or their dependants)
	Appeal to OIC	€50 (€15 for medical card holders or their dependants)

*If estimated fee for search, retrieval and copying fees is €700 or more, the FOI Officer can refuse to process the request, unless the requester is willing to narrow the scope of the request to bring it below the limit

The Medical Council maintains a publication scheme in line with Section 8 of the FOI Act. We endeavour to publish relevant information relating to our activities in as timely a manner as possible. You can access key information about the Medical Council including our functions and publications at the relevant links below.

About the Medical Council	Annual Reports and Financial Statements
Registration Information	Prompt Payment Reports
Check the Register	General Procurement Information
The Complaints Process	Disclosure Log
Medical School Accreditation	Council Summary Minutes

Email: foi@mcirl.ie

Telephone:  +353 (01) 4988436

Hours of contact by phone are 10.00am until 12.30pm and 2.00pm until 4.00pm Monday to Friday.

If your query relates to a matter outside of Freedom of Information, please contact the relevant section directly. Contact details are available here.