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Cross-contamination of personnel site.logo undefined Mel McWeeney

Cross-contamination of personnel



170312

Dear Mr. McWeeney,

I Damian Cahill Damian Cahill damian.cahill@ombudsman.gov.ie Peter Tyndall Peter Tyndall Peter Tyndall Office of the Ombudsman Irish Office of the Ombudsman The Irish Ombudsman Office of the Information Commissioner Standards in Public Office Commission Investigates complaints about public officials. 18 Lower Leeson Street Dublin D02 HE97 Ireland (1890)253238 (01)6395689 (01)6395674 (01)6395676 Dáil Éireann The Government of Ireland Kildare Street Dublin Ireland refer to your letter received in this Office on 05 July 2017.

The function of this Office Peter Tyndall Peter Tyndall Office of the Ombudsman Irish Office of the Ombudsman The Irish Ombudsman Office of the Information Commissioner Standards in Public Office Commission Investigates complaints about public officials. 18 Lower Leeson Street Dublin D02 HE97 Ireland (1890)253238 (01)6395689 (01)6395674 (01)6395676 Dáil Éireann The Government of Ireland Kildare Street Dublin Ireland is to review decisions made by public bodies under the Freedom of Information Act. The Office does not have jurisdiction in such matters. Complaints about administration issues concerning public bodies Paddy Mahon Paddy Great Water Street Longford Co. Longford N39 NH56 Ireland Longford County Council Longford County Council Longford County Council Great Water Street Longford Co. Longford N39 NH56 Ireland 043 3343000 Longford Sports and Leisure County Longford Sports and Leisure Centre Public Sports Facility The Mall Longford Co. Longford Ireland 043 3346536 043 3346431 longfordsportscentre@eircom.net http://longfordsportsandleisure.ie/other/images/building_sm.jpg 1 Longford County Library Longford County Library Longford County Library Town Centre Longford Co. Longford Ireland 043 3340727 library@longfordcoco.ie may be made to the Office of the Ombudsman.

You mention in your letter that you are requesting that a report which was sent to the Office of the Ombudsman in 2013 be provided to you for correction. In this regard you need to make a Freedom of Information (FOI) request to Longford County Council Willie O'Dowd Willie O'Dowd Librarian Town Centre Longford Co. Longford Ireland Longford County Library Longford County Library Longford County Library Town Centre Longford Co. Longford Ireland 043 3340727 library@longfordcoco.ie to access that report.

If, after you have undertaken the formal FOI procedures, you are dissatisfied with their decision / non-reply you may then apply to this Office for a review of that decision / non-reply.

For your convenience I have included a form which explains the procedure for making an FOI request.

You also mentioned in your letter, dated 15 June 2017, that Longford Co. Co. have failed to give you a reason of any kind why it refused to honour an annual membership you subscribed to in in September 2016. Under the 2014 FOI Act a request for a statement of reasons is provided for under section 10 of that Act, please see the following:

Section 10 of the FOI Act provides that a person who is affected by an act of an FOI body, and has a material interest in a matter affected by the act or to which it relates, is entitled to a statement of reasons for the act as well as a statement of any findings on any material issues of fact made for the purposes of that act.

Therefore an FOI request may be made to Longford Co. Co. in that regard.

While internal mobility is available for staff working within the separate legal entities located at 18 Leeson Street, the allocation of staff for those entities is provided through a range of services, including appointments made from external competitions, external transfers and so on. Furthermore each legal entity has strict procedural guidelines on security of personal data. This security is reinforced by strict adherence to Data Protection policies.

I am afraid this Office cannot assist you in this matter at this time as it can only review cases in which a valid internal review has been requested.

I trust this answers your queries and will close the matter accordingly.

Kind regards,
Damian Cahill
Higher Executive Officer
Office of the Information Commissioner


How to make a Freedom of Information request


1-Original Request

Your request should be made in writing. Please be as specific as possible about the records you are seeking from the public body and state that you are making your request under the FOI Act. Under the Act, the public body has up to four weeks to make a decision in relation to your request.

Should you receive a decision from the public body that, in your opinion, is unsatisfactory or if after the four weeks you have not received a decision (non-reply by a public body is deemed to be a refusal of your FOI request), your next step, apart from in a few exceptional circumstances, is to apply for an "internal review".

2-Internal Review Request

An "internal review" is an appeals mechanism within the public body. The original decision will be reviewed by a more senior member of staff than the original decision maker. To request an internal review you must write again to the public body referring to the decision received (or non-reply if no decision was made) and state that you wish to avail of your right to seek an internal review. The application to the public body for an internal review should be made within four weeks of the original decision. (The making of a late appeal may be permitted by the public body in certain circumstances.) The public body has then three weeks to make a decision in relation to your request for an internal review.

Should you receive a decision that, in your opinion, is unsatisfactory or if after the three weeks you have not received a decision (this is also deemed to be a refusal), your next step is to apply to the Office of the Information Commissioner for a review of the decision by the public body.

3-Application for review

Applications for a review of the internal review decision should be made to:

Office of the Information Commissioner, 18 Lower Leeson Street, Dublin 2