No State website containing all of Ireland's laws

According to a government spokesperson there is no State website that contains an up to date record of all Irish legislation.

According to a government spokesperson there is no State website that contains an up to date record of all Irish legislation. The Irish Statue Book website, which contains Irish legislation since 1922, and is the main source for it, has a disclaimer, which says they can't guarantee the information on the website.

It says: “The State and Attorney General, its servants or agents assume no responsibility for and give no guarantees, undertakings or warranties concerning the accuracy, completeness or up to date nature of the information provided on the web site.”

According to a government spokesperson, the disclaimer is there because when the government commissioned the website in 1996 an outside contractor recaptured the data electronically either by scanning or re-keying and, “whilst every effort was made to quality assure the process, inevitably some errors occurred. Therefore a disclaimer was included on the website. Where errors are identified and notified to the Office they are rectified as soon as possible”.

There is some legilsation currently missing from the website.  Acts from 2007 are not yet up on it, although the spokesperson said they would be by the end of the month. Many of the statutory instruments dating from 2005 are also missing.

Although legislative information is also available on the Oireachtas website “there is no State website that contains an up to date list of all Acts and Statutory Instruments”, the spokesperson said.
EMMA BROWNE