In order to strike a balance between the need for retrospection, and the ability of bodies to be able to carry out their functions without undue administrative burden, the Government decided that the date of the 21st of April 2008 which is provided for in the Act strikes the right balance for all new bodies coming under the 2014 FOI Act.
In the case of Irish Water as the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reforms explicit intention was that the Freedom of Information Act 2014 should apply only from the date of establishment (17 July 2013) and this intention sufficiently appears in the SI 140 of 2014 that is the date on which the Act is deemed to apply.