We advise on all aspects of Freedom of Information (“FOI”) law and laws governing access to records. We work with both public bodies who fall within the scope of FOI and with private sector entities in their dealings with such public bodies. We advise on the full range of issues relevant to the Freedom of Information Act 2014 and other relevant legislation, including:

• FOI requests and applications
• Interaction of the FOI Act with other privacy laws
• Confidentiality, legal privilege and disclosure
• Access to Information on the Environment (AIE) Regulations
• FOI compliance
• Third party consultation under section 38 of the FOI Act
• Requests pursuant to the FOI Act and mechanisms for addressing refusals of access by public bodies
• Provision of confidential / commercially sensitive information by commercial entities
• Procedural advices on the review of decisions
• Appeals of Information Commissioner decisions
• Publication Schemes
• Tailored FOI training
• Information management and document retention policies

Relevant Experience

• Advising a multinational pharmaceutical company on third party consultation with a public body and making submissions in relation to the non-disclosure of confidential information
• Advising a third level institution on an FOI request from one participant in a tender process in relation to records relating to other participants in the tender
• Advising on use of FOI in the context an employment law dispute
• Advising a public body on the interaction of GDPR and FOI disclosure requirements
• Advising on the voluntary release of records in the context of an FOI request