Freedom of Information

At present, the Insolvency Service of Ireland (ISI) makes available a range of information to the public in relation to its functions, activities and insolvency solutions. Such information will continue to be made available on this website without the need to use the Freedom of Information Act 2014 through publications such as the ISI's Annual Reports, quarterly statistics and information guides on all debt solutions.

Access to information under the FOI Act is subject to certain exemptions, it involves specific procedures and times limits.

It should be noted that the ISI is an exempted body for records in the performance of its functions under Part 2 of the Personal Insolvency Act 2012, other than insofar as it relates to records concerning the general administration of those functions. In addition it should be noted that the Official Assignee in Bankruptcy is an officer in the Insolvency Service of Ireland (ISI), all records held by him are records of the ISI. This means that only records relating to the general administration of the ISI may be accessed under the Freedom of Information Act, 2014.

Please see below for information on making a request and some frequently asked questions.

No - it is not necessary to make a FOI request to get information from the ISI. A considerable amount of material is already made available to the public through its extensive publications, statistics and registers sections together with information provided by its Information Line staff and general enquiries which can be made to info@isi.gov.ie

You will not be charged.

However, other charges may be applied for the time spent finding records and for any photocopying costs incurred by the ISI providing you with the material requested.

Please contact:

Fee list:

• €30 internal review fee - non personal requests
• €10 internal review fee (medical card holders)
• €50 appeal to the Information Commissioner
• €10 appeal to the Information Commissioner (medical card holders)
• €20 per hour for search and retrieval
• €0.04 per sheet for a photocopy

Under the Act, a request for records must be acknowledged within 2 weeks and, in most cases, responded to within 4 weeks. A week is defined in the Act to mean 5 consecutive weekdays, excluding Saturdays and public holidays (Sundays are also excluded as they are not considered weekdays). If a third party is involved, there may be another 3 weeks before a response issues.

Request for Internal Review

If you are dissatisfied with the ISI's response, you can seek to have a decision re-examined by a more senior member of staff within the ISI. Applications for review of a decision, together with an appropriate fee (see below; note that these fees apply only to non-personal requests) should be addressed to:

The ISI FOI Unit will complete the review within 15 working days.

A standard fee of €30 must accompany an application for internal review. A reduced fee of €10 applies if the person bringing the application is a medical card holder or a dependant of a medical card holder.

Request for review by the Office of the Information Commissioner

If you are still unhappy with the decision, you have the right to appeal the decision to the Information Commissioner. Applications with appropriate fees (see below; note that these fees apply only to non-personal requests) should be forwarded directly to the following address:

A standard fee of €50 must accompany applications to the Information Commissioner for review of decisions made by public bodies under Section 34 of the Act.

Caitríona Fitzgerald is the nominated Access Officer for the ISI.

Any persons with disabilities seeking information or advice relating to accessing the services of the ISI can contact Caitriona by phone or email.