The Freedom of Information Act 2014 provides for a completely new FOI fees regime. The Ministerial Order establishing the new fees regime (S.I. 531 of 2014) can be found here. The following is a summary of the new fee structure in respect of non-personal requests:

The €15 application fee has been abolished;

There is a minimum threshold of €101 below which no search, retrieval and copying fees can be charged. Once the charge reaches €101, full fees apply;

There is a cap on the amount of search, retrieval and copying fees that can be charged of €500;

There is a further upper limit on estimated search, retrieval and copying fees at €700 above which an FOI body can refuse to process a request, unless the requester is prepared to refine the request to bring the search, retrieval and copying fees below the limit;

The fee for internal review under Section 21 is now €30 (€10 for medical card holders and their dependants)

The fee for appeals to the Information Commissioner under Section 22 is now €50 (€15 for medical card holders and their dependants)