STATUTORY INSTRUMENT

S.I. NO. 67 of 2000.

Freedom of Information Act, 1997 (Prescribed Bodies) Regulations, 2000

I, Charlie McCreevy, Minister for Finance, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by section 3 of the Freedom of Information Act, 1997 ( No. 13 of 1997 ), and with the consent of the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform and the Minister for Health and Children, hereby make the following regulations with respect to which, pursuant to section 3(3) of that Act, a draft has been laid before each House of the Oireachtas and a resolution approving of the draft has been passed by each such House:

1.      These Regulations may be cited as the Freedom of Information Act, 1997 (Prescribed Bodies) Regulations, 2000.

2.      The following bodies shall stand prescribed for the purposes of paragraph 1(5) of the First Schedule to the Freedom of Information Act, 1997 (No. 13 of 1997) :

the Courts Service,

the Equality Authority,

the Ordnance Survey,

the Area Health Boards to be established on the establishment day by section 14(1) of the Health (Eastern Regional Health Authority) Act, 1999 (No. 13 of 1999) ,

and

the Health Boards Executive to be established on the establishment day by section 21(1) of the Health (Eastern Regional Health Authority) Act, 1999 (No. 13 of 1999) .

3.      The Freedom of Information Act, 1997 (No. 13 of 1997) is hereby amended in paragraph 1(2) of the First Schedule by the deletion of “the Employment Equality Agency,”.

The Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform consents to the making of these Regulations.

The Minister for Health and Children consents to the making of these Regulations.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Instrument and does not purport to be a legal interpretation.)

These Regulations prescribe the Courts Service, the Equality Authority, and the Ordnance Survey as separate public bodies for the purposes of the Freedom of Information (FOI), Act 1997 ( No. 13 of 1997 ) by their inclusion in subparagraph (2) of paragraph 1 of the First Schedule to that Act, and deletion of the reference to the Employment Equality Agency from that Schedule. They also prescribe the Area Health Boards and the Health Boards Executive established under the Health (Eastern Regional Health Authority) Act, 1999 , as public bodies under the FOI Act.

The functions of the Courts Service were previously under the scope of the Act as part of the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform. These Regulations designate the Courts Service as a separate public body following its establishment as an independent legal entity under the Courts Act. The Ordnance Survey is being separately designated in recognition of its functional separateness from the Valuation Office, both bodies having been jointly designated since commencement of the Act. The Regulations ensure that records of both the Courts Service and the Ordnance Survey can continue to be sought under the FOI Act.

The Equality Authority is being brought under the scope of the Act as a new public body. As the Authority subsumes the functions of the Employment Equality Agency as part of its remit, the latter body has ceased to exist and accordingly the reference to it in the Act is being deleted. The Regulations also ensure that records of the Employment Equality Agency can continue to be sought from the Equality Authority under the FOI Act.

The Eastern Regional Health Authority Act, 1999, establishes the Area Health Boards and the Health Boards Executive. These Regulations ensure that the FOI Act applies to those bodies. Since these bodies will be performing functions previously carried out by the Eastern Health Board, this Regulation will ensure that records of the type held by the Eastern Health Board can continue to be sought from the new bodies.