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FREEDOM OF INFORMATION GUIDELINES FOR CONTRACTORS/SUPPLIERS

The Freedom of Information Act 2014 applies to all information held by public bodies. It also applies to specifically designated private companies that perform public functions and, in a limited capacity to private companies that contract to public bodies. The legislation gives anyone anywhere in the world the legal right to request and receive a copy of recorded information held by, or on behalf of, a public authority. The emphasis is always on disclosure of the information rather than withholding it.

All of the information that Western Care Association holds about your company is covered by Freedom of Information (FOI), as is any information that you hold on our behalf.

If a contractor is employed to undertake a service on our behalf the information they produce in relation to that service is subject to FOI legislation. The responsibility for compliance with the legislation remains with the public authority.

If Western Care Association receives a request for information held about any of its contractors all such information will be considered for release under the FOI Act. That does not mean it will automatically be released if it is requested as one of the exemptions may apply. Wherever possible we will seek the contractor's views before making a decision on disclosure of information that might affect their rights or interests. Although the contractor's representations will be taken into account the law makes Western Care Association are responsible for making the final decision regarding disclosure.

Under the FOI Act 2014, Western Care Association has to under the Model Publication Scheme publish details of the following:

• Payments or Purchase Orders for goods and services

Details, on a quarterly basis, of payments or purchase orders for goods and services of more than €20,000 (to include the name of the company /supplier and description of goods /services received)

• A link to all current tender competitions on the eTenders website

Details of current tender competitions over €10,000 for ICT and €25,000 for all other competitions are available on www.etenders.gov.ie

• Public contracts awarded including contract type, contractor, value, award date, duration and brief description (tabular format) over €10k for ICT and over €25k for other contracts

On a quarterly basis, details of public contracts awarded for values over €10,000 for

ICT and €25,000 for all other contracts (exclusive of VAT) should be published including:

• Whether this is an award for a single contract or an award from a framework,

• Name of winning contractor and legal address,

• Value of the contract (exclusive of VAT),

• Type of Contract (works, supplies, services),

• Contract Award Date,

• Duration of contract in months,

• Brief description of contract.

What is a record as defined under Freedom of Information?

The FOI Act gives a broad definition to the term ‘record’. The definition covers all document types and does not distinguish formats, being equally applicable to documents created, maintained and stored manually and/or electronically. The Act includes:

"… any memorandum, book plan, map drawing, diagram, pictorial or graphic work or other document, any photograph, film or recording (whether of sound or images or both), any form in which data (within the meaning of the Data Protection Act, 1988) are held, any other form (including machine-readable form) or thing in which information is held or stored manually, mechanically or electronically and anything that is part or a copy, in any form, of any of the foregoing or is a combination of two or more of the foregoing …

For any queries or comments please contact the Freedom of Information Officer at Western Care Association or by emailing foiofficer@westerncare.com