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Information Manual (S15)

POLICY ON THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT, 1997

The Ombudsman warmly welcomes the provisions of the FOI Act and is committed to the implementation of that Act in relation to his own Office. The structures are in place to provide the information which may be requested from the Office and to which the Act applies. To the extent allowed by the Act, every effort will be made to provide information requested under the Act and every assistance will be offered to any applicant for such information.

The FOI Act does not, in fact, apply to the full range of records held by the Ombudsman's Office. Under Section 46(1)(c)(iii) of the FOI Act, records relating to an investigation or examination carried out under the Ombudsman Act, 1980 are excluded from the provisions of the FOI Act. However, as the majority of such records relate to matters concerning specific individuals - the Ombudsman's complainants - they are likely to fall into the category of "personal information" and would not be generally available under the FOI Act in any case. Other records - for example relating to the administration of the Office, to personnel matters, or general contacts with public bodies - will be available under the FOI Act (subject to the standard provisions in that Act).

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