Freedom of Information Act, 1997- Section 15 and 16 Reference Book

The Freedom of Information (FOI) Act establishes three new 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 Act asserts 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. This manual is prepared in accordance with publication requirements set out in Section 15 of the Act. Its purpose is to facilitate access to official information held by the National Economic and Social Development Office, by outlining the structure and functions of the National Economic and Social Development Office; information on the classes of records we hold and information on how to make a request to the National Economic and Social Development Office under the Freedom of Information Act, 1997.