About Us
Section 15
Section 15 of the Freedom of Information Act, 1997
An information guide to the Commission for Communications Regulation
1. INTRODUCTION
The Freedom of Information (FOI) Acts establishes three statutory rights:
A legal right for each person to access information held by public bodies
A legal right for each person to have official information relating to him/herself amended where it is incomplete, incorrect or misleading
A legal right to obtain reasons for decisions affecting oneself
The FOI Acts 1997 and 2003 assert the right of members of the public to obtain access to official information to the greatest extent possible consistent with the public interest and the right to privacy of individuals.
2. HOW TO GET INFORMATION
2.1 Access to routinely available information
2.2 How to obtain information under the F.O.I. act
2.3 Right of review and appeal
2.4 Internal Review
2.5 Review by the Information Commissioner
2.1 Access to routinely available information
ComReg currently makes information routinely available to the public in relation to its functions, activities and schemes. Such information will continue to be available informally without the need to use the FOI Act.
The Publications section provides access to all publicly available ComReg documents including consultations, reports on consultations, speeches, decision notices, determinations on dispute resolutions and other major documents.
The FOI Act is designed to allow public access to information held by public bodies which is NOT routinely available through other sources. Access to information under the Act is subject to certain exemptions and involves specific procedures and time limits. This manual provides a guide to the structure of the organisation so as to help you access information under the FOI Act.
The organisation's website address is: www.comreg.ie. Consumer information is provided at www.askcomreg.ie and comparison of costs of personal/non-business mobile, home phone and broadband price plans is available at http://www.callcosts.ie
Data Protection Act, 2003
ComReg is registered as a data controller under the Data Protection Acts, 1988 and 2003. The provisions of this Act still apply in relation to personal data and a request in relation to such data may be made under either the Data Protection Act or the Freedom of Information Act.
2.2 How to obtain information under the Freedom of Information Act
Under the FOI Act, anyone is entitled to apply for access to information not otherwise publicly available. Each person has a right to:
access records held by ComReg
have personal information held by ComReg corrected or updated where such information
be given reasons for decisions taken by public bodies that affect them is inaccurate, incomplete
The following records come within the scope of the Act:
all records relating to personal information held by the Office irrespective of when created
all other records created from the commencement date of the Act, 21st April 1998
any other records necessary to the understanding of a current record
ComReg is obliged to respond to the request within 20 working days.
Requests under the Freedom of Information Act must be in writing, either as a letter, fax or email, to the Information Access Executive. You may also use the application form to submit a request. Your application must be accompanied by an application fee.
The standard application fee is currently set at €15 with a reduced fee of €10 applying if a requester is covered by a medical card. Payment should be made payable to "Commission for Communications Regulation". There is no application fee for a request relating to personal information.
When you are preparing a request, please follow these guidelines:
If you require a reply in a particular format i.e. photocopy, computer disk, etc this should be mentioned in your application.
Please give as much detail as possible to enable ComReg staff to identify the record and reply speedily to your request. If you have difficulty in identifying the precise records you require the Inforamtion Access Executive will be glad to assist you in preparing your request.
You may forward your request using different methods – by post addressed to the Information Access Executive, email to foi@comreg.ie , fax to (+353 1) 8049717 or use the application form on the website.
Provide full contact details including a contact telephone number.
Ensure your request is accompanied by payment of the upfront fee
You may be required to prove your identity, especially when requesting personal information so you may, therefore, be asked to produce your passport, driving licence, birth certificate, etc.
You may be required to prove your identity, especially when requesting personal information so you may, therefore, be asked to produce your passport, driving licence, birth certificate, etc.
You do not have to give any reason for wanting access to the record
You should receive an acknowledgement of your request within two weeks from the date we receive your request.
You should receive a reply to your request within 20 working days of the date of request receipt. It may be necessary to extend this period if your request relates to a large number of records or a large number of requests for the same record(s) have been made. If we need to extend the time limit, we will inform you before the end of the initial four week period.
If your request is granted:
You will receive a letter stating your request has been granted
You will be told the day on which access to the relevant records will be granted and the manner in which it will be granted
You will be given details of the charges, if applicable
If your request is refused:
You will receive a letter stating that your request has been refused and giving reasons for the refusal
You will be informed of your rights of review and appeal
Should you have any other queries about FOI, please consult our Common Questions section. Alternatively, please contact the Information Access Executive who will be happy to answer any questions you may have.
2.3 Right of review and appeal
The Act sets out a series of exemptions to protect sensitive information where its disclosure may damage key interests of the State or of third parties. Where ComReg invokes these provisions to withhold information, the decision may be appealed. Decisions in relation to deferral of access, charges, forms of access, etc may also be subject to appeal.
2.4 Internal Review
You may seek internal review of the initial decision, which will be carried out by staff at a higher level, if:
you are dissatisfied with the initial response received (refusal of information, form of access, charges, etc)
you have not received a reply within 20 working days of your initial application. This is deemed to be a refusal of your request and allows you to proceed to internal review.
Internal Review will be carried out by a Division Director (View Organisational structure)
Requests for internal review should be addressed to:
Mary Orford, Information Access Executive,
Commission for Communications Regulation,
Abbey Court,
Irish Life Centre,
Lower Abbey Street,
Dublin 1
Tel: (+353 1) 8049692
Fax: (+353 1) 8049717
Email foi@comreg.ie
Please remember your request for internal review must be accompanied by the appropriate upfront fee.
Such a request for internal review must be submitted within 4 weeks of the initial decision and ComReg must complete the review within 3 weeks.
Internal review must normally be completed before an appeal may be made to the Information Commissioner.
2.5 Review by the Information Commissioner
Following completion of the internal review you may seek independent review of the decision from the Information Commissioner. If you have not received a reply to your application for internal review within 3 weeks this is deemed to be a refusal and you may appeal the matter to the Information Commissioner.
Appeals in writing may be made directly to the Information Commissioner at the following address:
Office of the Information Commissioner,
18, Lower Leeson Street,
Dublin 2,
Ireland.Tel: (+353 1) 6785222 or 1890-223030 from outside the 01 area within the Republic
Fax: (+353 1) 6610570
Email: info@oic.ie
3. DESCRIPTION AND FUNCTIONS
Details about Comreg's Functions are available in our About Us section.
4. ORGANISATION STRUCTURE AND STRUCTURAL BREAKDOWN
Details about Comreg's Structure are available in our About Us section.
5. Guidelines on the treatment of confidential information
Details of how Comreg treats confidential information are available in our About Us section.
6. Records under the Freedom of Information Act
ComReg is committed to the principles of good record management. It has procedures for the retention, storage and security of records, which are compliant with national legislation, national standards and directions, and best practice
Classes of Records
The main classes of record held in ComReg:
Directions
Determinations
Correspondence with market operators
Discussion Papers / Position Papers
Briefing Notes
Consultation Papers
Summary of comments received
Submissions
Position papers
Decisions
Information Notices
Legislation
Licenses
Licensee and other company information
Correspondence with operators
Market information
Correspondence with other regulatory bodies
Non-Ionising Radiation reports
Consumer guides
Consumer complaints/queries
Consultants’ reports
Information requests/enquiries
Presentations and speeches
Internal administration
Correspondence
Policies and Procedures
Procurement
Employee Records
Health & Safety
Recruitment
Training
Press Releases
Annual Reports, Finance and Accounts
RSS
