What is Open Data?
Open data is data that can be freely used, re-used and redistributed by anyone – subject only, at most, to the requirement that the source of the information is to attributed.
Why is OSi releasing data freely?
The Department of Public Expenditure and Reform is leading the way with its Open Data Initiative for all of Ireland’s State Agencies to enable access to data of local and national importance.
Part of this strategy is for various data creators such as OSi to release relevant data for the public to use free from any licencing limitations and for the users of that date to freely use it as they see fit.
What data will be released?
Over time as the data.gov.ie becomes more central to the States data infrastructure, more and more items will be released from OSi and other agencies.
OSi will shortly grant access through the Open Data portal to the National Place Names Gazetteer and over the coming months will also give access to the National 1:1000000 map of Ireland, the Regional 1:250000 map of Ireland and National Statutory Boundary data.
- Link to our Open Data Site on ArcGIS Online – http://data.osi.opendata.arcgis.com/
- 50 individual data items have been released as part of 6 main themes ;
- National Statutory Boundaries
- National Placenames Gazetteer
- Regional Water – from EuroGeographics 1:1m and 1:250k data
- Regional Transport & Facilities – from EuroGeographics 1:1m and 1:250k data
- Regional Geographic Boundaries – from EuroGeographics 1:1m and 1:250k data
- Regional Geographic Placenames- from EuroGeographics 1:1m and 1:250k data
What licencing restrictions will apply?
The main goal of open data initiatives is to ensure that the restrictions on using and disseminating the data are minimal.
As part of this, any data released by OSi will be free to use as long as we are attributed as the content creator.
A standard Creative Commons licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode) applies to this data.
Under this licence you are free to copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format and remix, transform, and build upon the material for any purpose, even commercially.
However in doing so you must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.