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Time limit
for compliance.
4. (1) Subject to subsection (2), section 2 shall be complied
with as soon as possible, and in any event within fifteen working
days of receipt of the application.
Right to Access Information Act
2013
(2) Where the information sought concerns the life or
liberty of a person, section 2 shall be complied with within fortyeight hours of receipt of the application.
(3) Where an application is especially complex or relates
to a large volume of information, the public authority may request
the Commission for an extension of not more than fifteen working
days.
(4) Any failure to conform to the timelines set out in this
section shall be deemed a refusal of the request, for purposes of
complaints and appeals.
Transfer of
application.
5. (1) Where a public authority does not hold information
which is responsive to a request or part of a request, that request or
any relevant part of it may, not later than three days from the date of
its receipt, be transferred to another public authority if the information
requested is held by that other public authority.
(2) Where an application is transferred under subsection
(1), the applicant shall be informed of the transfer immediately, and in
any event not later than three working days from the date of the
transfer.
(3) A public authority to which an application is
transferred under subsection (1) shall decide the request in
accordance with the timelines set out in section 4, to run from the
day upon which the public authority receives the transferred request.
Fees.
6. (1) A public authority to which a request for information
is made may, within the time limit for compliance specified in section
5, give the applicant a fees notice, stating that a fee of an amount
specified in the notice is to be charged by the public authority for
complying with section 2.
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2013
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(2) Where a fees notice has been given to the applicant,
the public authority shall not be obliged to comply with section 2
unless the fee is paid within the period of three months beginning on
the day on which the fees notice is given to the applicant.
(3) Subject to subsection (5), any fee under this section
shall not exceed the reasonable, cost-based amount for reproducing
and sending the information to the applicant, and shall be in
accordance with any Regulations made by the Minister under this
Act.
(4) Regulations made by the Minister under subsection
(3) may, in particular, provide that no fee shall be payable under this
section in the following cases:–
(a) where the applicant falls below a certain
income level;
(b) where the request is for personal information
relating to the applicant; or
(c) where the request is in the public interest,
for example because the applicant intends to
make the information public.
(5) Subsection (3) shall not apply where provision is made
in any enactment as to the fee that may be charged by the public
authority for the disclosure of the information.
7. (1) Where, on making a request for information, the
applicant expresses a preference for communication by any one or
more of the following means:–
(a) providing the applicant with a copy, certified
or otherwise, of the information in permanent
form or in another form acceptable to the
applicant, such as an electronic form;
Communication of
request.