Decision
Mr X and Health Service Executive
From Office of the Information Commissioner (OIC)
Case number: OIC-145965-H5J3V5
Published on
From Office of the Information Commissioner (OIC)
Case number: OIC-145965-H5J3V5
Published on
Whether the HSE was justified in its decision to extend the period for consideration of the applicant’s FOI request under section 14 of the FOI Act based on the number of records to which the request related
15 May 2024
In a request dated 20 December 2023, the applicant sought access to his medical records held by his GP Clinic from 2016 to the date of his request and a copy of the Clinic’s appointment policy. On 16 January 2024, the HSE issued a letter to the applicant, informing him that it was necessary to extend the period for consideration of his request by four weeks, under section 14(1)(a) of the FOI Act, due to the large number of records to be considered in processing in his request. On 30 January 2024, the applicant applied to this Office for review on the ground that he did not believe the volume of records is high enough to warrant the extension of time.
I understand that the HSE subsequently issued its decision on the applicant’s request on 7 February 2024, granting his request apart from certain third party personal information that it refused under section 37(1) of the Act. It is important to note that the HSE’s substantive decision on the applicant’s FOI request is not the subject of this review. Therefore, any decision I make at this time can have no tangible benefit for either party.
I have now completed my review in accordance with section 22(2) of the FOI Act. In carrying out my review, I have had regard to the correspondence referred to above and to the submissions made by the HSE in support of its decision. I have decided to conclude this review by way of a formal, binding decision.
This review is concerned solely with whether the HSE’s decision to extend the time-frame for considering the applicant’s request was in accordance with the provisions of section 14 of the FOI Act.
Section 13(1) of the Act provides that an FOI body shall make a decision on a request for records within four weeks of receipt of the request. However, under section 14(1), it may extend that four-week period by up to four further weeks where it considers that
(a) the request relates to such number of records, or
(b) the number of other FOI requests relating either to the record or records to which the specified request relates or to information corresponding to that to which the specified request relates or to both that have been made to the body concerned before the specified request was made to it and in relation to which a decision under section 13 has not been made is such,
that compliance with that subsection [section 13(1)] within the four weeks specified is not reasonably possible.
In its submissions to this Office, the HSE stated that the records sought and considered are the applicant’s medical records held by the named doctor. In correspondence with this Office the HSE stated that the number of records included 184 pages that were released to the applicant with exemptions applied to parts of the record. The HSE stated that the records were all held by the named doctor and that this information was requested by the HSE on 22 December 2023. It stated that the records were forwarded in hard copy form to the HSE on 29 December 2023. The HSE stated that the records were provided to it in hard copy format. It stated that there were two staff members involved in dealing with the applicant’s request, the decision maker and the research officer. It stated that the time involved in dealing with the applicant’s request was approximately 10 hours.
The HSE said there were a number of factors that affected its ability to issue a decision on the applicant’s request within the original 4 week deadline, including the volume of records to be considered (184 pages), the large volume of other FOI requests in the department being dealt with simultaneously, including a further request from the applicant on 29 December 2023 which also related in part to records held by the applicant’s GP, the Christmas leave period, and the FOI Decision Maker was on leave in January and not available to review and sign off records. The HSE stated that it issued its decision to the applicant on the 7 February 2024, which was two weeks past the original due date.
The circumstances in which an FOI body may extend the four-week period for processing a request are quite narrow and specific. Section 14 does not provide for extensions of the time-frame for considering requests on the basis of other FOI related (or any other) administrative challenges arising. Under section 14(1)(a), the FOI body is entitled to extend the decision making period only where the request relates to such number of records that compliance with the four-week timeframe set out in section 13 is not reasonably possible.
The FOI Act provides no guidance on the number of records that might be involved before an extension can be appropriately applied. Therefore, each case must be considered on its merits on the particular facts and circumstances. Nevertheless, the provision is clear that a decision to extend the period must be based on the number of records to which the request relates. In my view, the HSE has provided insufficient evidence to support a claim that the request related to such a number of records that compliance with the four-week period was not reasonably possible. I note that the records were provided to the HSE well within the original four-week time period. It seems to me that the time actually spent in processing the request (10 hours) and the number of records ultimately provide to the applicant does not support the argument that the extension was necessary. While I acknowledge there were a number of administrative challenges that impacted the processing of the applicant’s request within the original four-week timeframe, the provisions of section 14 are very specific and do not allow for the extension of the period for consideration of a request because of annual leave or other work priorities, including the volume of other FOI requests, save where section 14(1)(b) of the FOI Act applies. In the circumstances of this case, the HSE has not satisfied me than an extension was warranted.
Accordingly, while my findings in this case have no tangible benefit for the applicant given that the HSE has already issued its decision on his request, I find that the HSE’s decision to extend the time period for considering the applicant’s request was not in accordance with the provisions of section 14(1)(a) of the FOI Act.
Having carried out a review under section 22(2) of the FOI Act, I hereby annul the HSE’s decision to extend the period for consideration of the applicant’s request under section 14(1)(a) of the FOI Act.
Section 24 of the FOI Act sets out detailed provisions for an appeal to the High Court by a party to a review, or any other person affected by the decision. In summary, such an appeal, normally on a point of law, must be initiated not later than four weeks after notice of the decision was given to the person bringing the appeal.
Richard Crowley
Investigator