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Freedom of Information and EirGrid

The Freedom of Information (FOI) Act 2014 ensures that members of the public can (subject to some exemptions) obtain access to information in the possession of public bodies, and enables persons to have personal information relating to them in the possession of such bodies corrected.

As the licensed transmission system operator for Ireland, EirGrid has been subject to the FOI Act since 14 October 2015.

EirGrid is a “Partially Included Agency” under the FOI Act, which means members of the public can seek records held by EirGrid insofar as they relate to EirGrid’s functions under the transmission system operator licence. 

Our approach to FOI is to be open and transparent.

FOI and You

The Freedom of Information Act gives individuals the right to:

  • Access records held by public bodies
  • Have their personal information amended if it is incomplete, incorrect, or misleading
  • Be given reasons for decisions of public bodies that affect them (and which affect a matter in which that person has a material interest)

The right of access to records held by public bodies does not apply to “exempt records”, i.e. records which are subject to exemptions detailed in the FOI Act. However, any such decision not to release records will be subject to public interest considerations. 

If we apply any exemptions to refuse access to records, we will provide and explain to you our reasons for doing so in a decision letter. 

You can find more information about the exemptions that can apply to records in the FOI Act.

Making an FOI Request

Your FOI request must:

  1. State that the request is being made under the Freedom of Information Act,
  2. Contain as much detail as possible to enable us to identify the records you are seeking,
  3. Include your return address (to enable us to contact you), and
  4. Detail the manner in which you would like to receive your response (for example email, by post, etc).

You can make an FOI request:

FOI Officer
FOI Unit, EirGrid
Block 2, The Oval
160 Shelbourne Road
Ballsbridge
Dublin 4

There is no fee for submitting a Freedom of Information request to EirGrid. 

Our business hours are Monday to Friday 08:30 – 16:45 (excluding bank holidays). If your request is made outside of these hours, it will be deemed to have been received at the start of the next business day.

Publication Scheme

Section 8 of the Freedom of Information Act 2014 requires FOI bodies to prepare and publish as much information as possible in an open and accessible manner on a routine basis outside of FOI, having regard to the principles of openness, transparency and accountability as set out in Sections 8(5) and 11(3) of the Act. 

This allows for the publication or giving of records outside of FOI provided that such publication or giving of access is not prohibited by law. The scheme commits FOI bodies to make information available as part of their normal business activities in accordance with this scheme.

You can learn more about our publication scheme at the link below.

EirGrid Library and other queries

Before making an FOI Request, please take the time to look through our Publications page. 

EirGrid may already have published records or information you are seeking. 

For more general queries please email info@eirgrid.com. 

For media-related enquiries, please contact our press office.