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Accessibility

The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) is committed to providing information and services which are accessible to all.

Accessibility Statement

The Disability Act 2005 defines ‘access’ broadly. In this context, it includes physical access to the FSAI’s offices as well as access to information generally.

See Accessibility Statement and options for the FSAI website.

Contacting our Access Officer

The role of our Access Officer is to support each individual who requires assistance when engaging with the FSAI. In accordance with Section 26 of the Disability Act 2005, if you require assistance to access our services, please contact our Access Officer.

You may contact our Access Officer by post, e-mail or telephone. The contact details are as follows:

By post

Access Officer, Food Safety Authority of Ireland, The Exchange, George's Dock, IFSC, D01 P2V6, Dublin 1.

By e-mail

accessofficer@fsai.ie

By phone

+353 1 817 1300

Making a complaint

If you wish to make a complaint in relation to access to the FSAI, and its compliance with the terms of the Disability Act 2005, you may do so by sending your complaint to the Chief Executive Officer. Complaints must be in writing and sent by post or by email. The contact details are as follows:

By post

Chief Executive Officer, Food Safety Authority of Ireland, The Exchange, George's Dock, IFSC, D01 P2V6, Dublin 1.

By e-mail

ceo@fsai.ie

Making a complaint on someone’s behalf

Section 38 of the Disability Act 2005 states that a person or a ‘specified person’ may make a complaint in writing to the head of a public body. A specified person can be:

  • a husband, wife, parent or relative of a person with disability
  • a guardian or person acting on behalf of a person with disability
  • a legal representative of a person with disability
  • a personal advocate assigned to represent a person with disability

If you would like someone to make a request on your behalf, you must provide written authorisation allowing them to do so. This should accompany your letter or email of complaint.

Processing the complaint

Once your complaint is received, it is passed to an Inquiry Officer for investigation. The Disability Act 2005 states that a public body must appoint an Inquiry Officer to examine complaints made. It also states that each public body must publish a document with guidelines about how complaints are dealt with.

Investigations are carried out in private. The Inquiry Officer must write a report detailing the results of the investigation. This report is provided to the Chief Executive Officer of the FSAI. It is also provided to you and/or the person who made the complaint on your behalf.

The report must show what the Inquiry Officer found and decided about your complaint. If the Inquiry Officer decides that your complaint is valid, the report must also outline what the FSAI should now do to fix this problem.

Timeframe

The Inquiry Officer will issue an acknowledgement within five working days from the receipt of the complaint. S/he will provide the report within 15 working days. Where information is not readily available, this deadline may be extended. If that were to happen, the Inquiry Officer will inform the complainant at the earliest opportunity and provide a revised date by which the report will be provided.

Fees

There is no charge for making a complaint about access.

Appeals to the Ombudsman

If you are unhappy with the outcome of the complaints’ process, you may appeal the decision to the Ombudsman. You may contact the Ombudsman by post or by email. The contact details are as follows:

By post

Office of the Ombudsman, 6 Earlsfort Terrace, Saint Kevins, Dublin 2, DO2 W773

By e-mail

complaints@ombudsman.ie

If, after investigation, the Ombudsman finds an issue with how your complaint was handled, s/he may recommend that the public body:

  • takes another look at your complaint
  • takes certain actions to make things better
  • explains its actions to the Ombudsman

There is no charge for making a complaint to the Ombudsman.

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