It was always Government Policy that in general Commercial State bodies should not be subject to FOI because of the competitive market in which they operate, the rationale being, the risk of an uneven competitive market environment – in other words, they would be competing with privately owned market operators who were not subject to FOI . However, this view changed with the progressing of the FOI Bill 2014 through the Oireachtas, amendments were made, and the Government decided that certain State Companies which operate in the monopoly market are no longer exempt from the Freedom of information Act 2014.
These State Companies are as follows;
• Irish Rail,
• ESB Networks,
• Gas Networks Ireland,
• Eirgrid.