Freedom of information (FOI) and data protection

Freedom of Information (FOI) and data protection legislation grants similar rights to access records, subject to conditions:

• the FOI acts apply to information held by government departments, agencies and other bodies receiving state funding in Ireland
• the data protection acts and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) apply to personal information held by all legal entities, public and private

The department is subject to both sets of legislation and you can use any of the freedom of information acts, the GDPR or the data protection acts to access personal information that we hold.

In many cases, there will not be a significant difference between the FOI and data protection systems when you make a request for your personal data, but there are important differences between the two.

The FOI acts allow:

• you to access records held by us to the greatest extent possible
• access to non-personal as well as personal information
• a spouse or next of kin to access the personal information of a deceased person

But the GDPR and the data protection acts:

• apply to your own personal information only, unless another person has consented to the disclosure of their personal information

Access to third parties’ personal information is subject to restrictions under FOI legislation and is generally prohibited under data protection legislation.

Find out how to make a:

• freedom of information request
• data subject access request