Ms X and Donegal County Council [2020] IEIC 61711 (15 April 2020)

Ms X and Donegal County Council [2020] IEIC 61711 (15 April 2020)

The marks awarded to the successful candidate constitute personal information under section 37(1) of the FOI Act, are not covered by the exclusion for information relating to public servants, and none of the exceptions in section 37(2) or the public interest override in section 37(5) apply. The public interest in transparency does not outweigh the privacy rights of the individual in this context.

Citation
[2020] IEIC 61711
Parties
Applicant: Ms X; Respondent: Donegal County Council
Jurisdiction
Ireland
Judgment Date
15 April 2020
Procedural Posture
Freedom of Information Review / Decision on Review by Information Commissioner
Outcome
Refusal of access affirmed
Legal Topics
Personal Information Exemption, Public Sector Recruitment Transparency, Balancing Public Interest and Privacy
Administrative Law Freedom of Information Personal Information Exemption Public Sector Recruitment Transparency Balancing Public Interest and Privacy

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Parties

Ms X

Applicant

Donegal County Council

Respondent

Procedural Posture

Freedom of Information Review / Decision on Review by Information Commissioner

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether disclosure of marks awarded to the successful candidate for a public post constitutes personal information under section 37(1) of the FOI Act
  2. 2 Whether any exceptions to the personal information exemption apply
  3. 3 Whether the public interest in disclosure outweighs the privacy rights of the individual

Ratio Decidendi

The marks awarded to the successful candidate constitute personal information under section 37(1) of the FOI Act, are not covered by the exclusion for information relating to public servants, and none of the exceptions in section 37(2) or the public interest override in section 37(5) apply. The public interest in transparency does not outweigh the privacy rights of the individual in this context.

Court Disposition

Refusal of access affirmed

Orders

  • Council's refusal of access to the marks awarded to the successful candidate is affirmed under section 37(1) of the FOI Act.