Ensuring Access to Environmental Information

Search decisions

The role of the Commissioner for Environmental Information is to carry out independent reviews of decisions made by public authorities on requests for environmental information.

Recent Decisions

Mr X and daa Public Limited Company The Commissioner found that the interest in withholding the draft EIS on the basis of article 9(2)(c) of the AIE Regulations outweighed the public interest in disclosure of the information and upheld daa's reliance on the exception in respect of certain portions of the draft EIS. He found that the public interest in disclosure of the remaining portion of the draft EIS outweighed the interest served by withholding it and accordingly directed release of that remaining portion Read more

Mr X and Environmental Protection Agency The Commissioner found that it was reasonable to conclude that no further relevant environmental information was held by or for the EPA following its carrying out of adequate searches and, thus, article 7(5) of the AIE Regulations applied Read more

Mr D and the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government The Commissioner found that the Department was not justified in its decision refusing access to the requested information on the basis that it was not environmental information. He found that the requested information was environmental information pursuant to article 3(1)(c) of the AIE Regulations. The Commissioner annulled the Departments decision in full, and expressed his expectation that it would make a new decision on the request in accordance with the AIE Regulations. Read more