The Freedom of Information Act 2014 gives you the right to access records held by the Mental Health Commission. Such requests may be for personal or non-personal (i.e. corporate) records.
Freedom of Information
The Freedom of Information Act 2014 (the “2014 Act”) gives you the right to:
- Access, upon request, records held by the Mental Health Commission (MHC) subject to certain limited exemptions,
- Have personal information corrected or updated, and
- Be given reasons for decisions taken that affect you.
Your right to request records
Requests under the 2014 Act may be for:
- personal records- a request for a record that contains “personal information” relating to you and / or
- non-personal records- a request for records that do not relate to you. For examples of non-personal records please consult our FOI Disclosure Log.
Access request for personal records
The MHC is a Freedom of Information (FOI) body. As an FOI body, the MHC welcomes requests for personal records. You may request, for example, the following items:
- any records held by the MHC relating to you personally, irrespective of when they were created and / or
- any additional information, which may be required to assist in the understanding of a current record
Identification (personal records only)
To gain access to personal information, you are required to provide proof of identity. This is to ensure that information is released to the correct person and sent to the correct postal or email address. Items of identification required are
- a copy of identification bearing your full name and photograph (e.g. your passport, driver’s licence, etc.) and
- proof of your address to which the materials will be sent (e.g. the top of a utility bill bearing both your name and address) – this must be less than six months old
Notwithstanding the above, the MHC reserves the right to request any other additional or alternative proof of identity and/or address, that it considers necessary or appropriate to satisfy itself as to your identity.
Third party Request (personal records only)
When making an access request for personal records, you may request that your records be sent to a third party who you appoint (e.g. a solicitor, health professional, family member, etc.). If you choose to do so, you must complete the Third Party Authorisation for Access to Records form and attach it to your letter, email or FOI Application form.
The MHC reserves the right to request proof of identity or address relating to a third party nominated by you as well as proof that said party has been authorised by you.
Access request for non-personal records
As an FOI body, the MHC welcomes requests for non-personal records. As such requests do not relate to personal records, identification is not required.
As above, anonymised details of all non-personal requests are published quarterly on our FOI disclosure log. Please note personal requests shall not be published.
Your right to amendment or deletion
You have the right under Section 9 of the 2014 Act to have your personal records held by the MHC, amended or deleted where the information is found to be incomplete, incorrect or misleading. The MHC may only amend or delete records it holds.
Your right to seek reasons for decisions that affect or have affected you
You also have the right under Section 10 of the 2014 Act to seek reasons for decisions that affect/have affected you. The MHC may only provide reasons for decisions taken by it. Furthermore, you must satisfy the MHC that you have a “material interest” as is outlined in Section 10(5) of the 2014 Act.
How to make an FOI request
Your request must be in writing. For your request to be valid it must satisfy the following criteria:
- It must state that the request is being made under the Freedom of Information Act 2014.
- The request must be as specific and clear as possible to enable the record to be identified and retrieved by us.
- You must state how you would like to receive the records. We offer post or email.
Failure to satisfy the above criteria will result in a delay of the resolution of your request. It should be noted that the timeframe given below will only commence once we have received a request that satisfies all the criteria under Section 12(1) of the 2014 Act.
Your request can be sent by post or by email to the following addresses:
By post
FOI Decision Maker, Mental Health Commission, Waterloo Exchange, Waterloo Road, Dublin 4, DO4 E5W7
By email
dpfoi@mhcirl.ie
Form
Alternatively, you may use the FOI Application Form
Acknowledgement of request
Receipt of your request will be acknowledged once we have checked that you have met the criteria set out in Section 12(1) of the 2014 Act and, in the case of a personal request, once we are satisfied as to your identity. At this time, you will be advised as to when you may expect to receive a decision on your request.
Fees applicable to FOI requests
Under Section 27 of the 2014 Act fees may be charged, for the search, retrieval and copying of records requested. This process involves the following stages:
- locating the broad set of records in which those requested might be found
- identifying, extracting and assembling the particular records sought for examination
- the copying of physical records
Please note that fees for the estimated cost of searching, retrieval and copying of records will only be charged with respect to records being released. The cost for the copying of records shall only be charged if you have requested to be provided with a physical copy of the records.
You will be notified if a charge applies in the acknowledgement of your request or as soon as possible afterwards as the case may be.
No fee will be charged for:
- Requests for personal records.
- Where the cumulative fee for the location, identifying, extracting, assembling and copying of records is below the threshold of €100.
The current charges are €20 for each hour spent searching for, and retrieving, records and €0.04 per sheet for a photocopy of the records released. To save paper the MHC will usually print documents on both sides and the fee of €0.04 shall apply to both sides. If you would rather receive physical copies printed on one side only, please inform us of same prior to the issuing of a decision. This may increase the fee for copying.
Estimating the cost for search, retrieval and copying fees
Fees may be charged for the search, retrieval and copying of records. The following table sets out the bases upon which such fees are calculated.
Hours |
Estimate |
Action |
|---|---|---|
Less than 5 hours |
€100 or less |
No fees may be charged for search, retrieval and/or copying |
Between 5 and 24 hours |
€101 - €500 |
Search, retrieval and copying fees apply |
Between 25 and 34 hours |
€501 - €700 |
No more than €500 may be charged for search, retrieval and/or copying |
More than 35 hours |
More than €700 |
The FOI Officer will contact you to ask you to refine or to amend the request so that the fees for search, retrieval and copying fall below €700. If you do not want to refine or to amend your original request, then the request may be refused under Section 27(12)(a) (iii) of the 2014 Act |
Deposit
Where the fee has been estimated to be €101 or more, we will seek a deposit of no less than 20% of the estimated costs. Please note that in those instances the process of search and retrieval of the records will not commence, and the timeline referred to below will be paused until the deposit is paid.
You will be notified in writing if a deposit is due.
Appeal
If you do not agree with the charge that is applied to your request, you may appeal the matter. For more information see below.
Decision
As noted above, the following timeframe shall only apply to a request that satisfies all of the criteria set out in Section 12(1) of the 2014 Act.
A decision on your request will be made within 20 days from receipt of your request. Please note the 20 days shall not include weekends and public holidays. In the event that your request is received on a weekend or public holiday, the 20 days shall apply as of the next working day.
How records are provided
If the request is for personal records and you have asked for it to be provided by post, we will generally send the decision / records via registered post. If you have asked for the decision /records to be sent via email, we will send them to you via password encrypted PDF, the password will be relayed separately in a medium of your choice.
Please note if you do not state in your request how you would like to receive the records, we will default to the way the request is received (i.e. – for a request received by post the decision / records will issue by post). You can at any time prior to the decision / records issuing, advise the preferred method of receiving the records.
Exempt and restricted records
The 2014 Act sets out a series of exemptions, to protect sensitive information, where its disclosure may damage key interests of the State and/or third parties. This means that there are specific circumstances where the requested information will not be released (e.g. to protect confidentiality, etc.). If any of these exemptions apply to your request, the reasons will be clearly explained to you when you receive the decision on your request. For more information on exemptions please refer to the Exemptions & Consultation Procedures manual published by the FOI Central Policy Unit.
The restrictions that apply to the MHC may include but are not limited to the following:
Records relating to an investigation pursuant to the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act 2015 (as amended) (“2015 Act”)
The 2015 Act provides for the appointment by the MHC of the Director of the Decision Support Services (Director). The legal entity is the MHC and the FOI body for the purpose of the 2015 Act.
Sections 15, 30, 47, 76 and 88 of the 2015 Act provide for the Director to carry out investigations either on foot of a complaint or on his or her own initiative.
The Freedom of Information Act 2014 shall not apply to records relating to such an investigation that has been, or is in the process of being, carried out by the Director, or a person to whom he or she has delegated his or her functions.
Records relating to a report pursuant to the Protected Disclosures Act 2014 (as amended) (“PD Act”)
The PD Act provides that a worker may make a disclosure of relevant information regarding a wrongdoing to the MHC in specified circumstances. The communication of information on a relevant wrongdoing is referred to as a report.
The Freedom of Information Act 2014 shall not apply to records relating to a report.
Records provided in confidence
A record relating to information whose disclosure could reasonably be expected to reveal, or lead to the revelation of—
- the identity of a person who has provided information in confidence in relation to the enforcement or administration of the law to an FOI body, or where such information is otherwise in its possession, or
- any other source of such information provided in confidence to an FOI body, or where such information is otherwise in its possession.
Right to an internal review of initial decision
You may seek an internal review of specific decisions made by the MHC such as refusal of a request for records, the form of access provided, charges, etc; a full list of these decisions to which a review applies may be found under Section 21 of the 2014 Act. This review will involve a complete reconsideration of the matter by a more senior member of staff at the MHC, to the person who made the initial decision.
A request for an internal review must be submitted within four weeks from the date of the MHC decision. Late appeals may be permitted in certain limited circumstances which shall be determined on a case-by-case basis and is entirely at the discretion of the MHC. The MHC must complete the review and communicate the decision within three weeks.
Your request can be sent by post or by email to the following addresses:
By post
FOI Appeals Officer, Mental Health Commission, Waterloo Exchange, Waterloo Road, Dublin 4, DO4 E5W7
By email
The fee for an internal review under Section 21 of the Freedom of Information Act is €30 (€10 for medical card holders and their dependents). No fee is charged for the following situations:
- An internal review concerning access to personal records belonging to the requester.
- An internal review of a “deemed refusal” under Section 19 of the Act. A deemed refusal applies to instances where you have not received a notification of decision by the stated deadline under Section 9 or Section 13.
Appeals to the Office of the Information Commissioner (OIC)
The timelines that apply to the making of an appeal to the OIC depends on the nature of the decision you are appealing. You will have two weeks to appeal the following:
- A decision made by the FOI body to consult with a third party under Section 38 of the Act.
- A decision made by the FOI body to extend the period of consideration of the request under Section 14 of the Act.
Where an internal review process has been completed, you may appeal the decision within six months by writing to the Office of the Information Commissioner (OIC). The OIC may extend the time limit if they think there are reasonable grounds for doing so, this decision rests with the OIC.
Note that the term “completed” may apply either to instances where the Internal Reviewer has issued a decision within the stated deadline or where no response was issued within the deadline in which case this is treated as a “deemed affirmation” under Section 19 of the 2014 Act.
If you make an appeal, the OIC will fully investigate the matter and issue a fresh decision.
Your request can be sent by post or made online:
By post
Office of the Information Commissioner (OIC), 6 Earlsfort Terrace, Saint Kevins, Dublin 2, DO2 W773
Website
For more information on the fees payable for appeals under the OIC please see the Fees section of the OIC website.
