Organisation information
Access to Information on the Environment (AIE)
Published on
Last updated on
Published on
Last updated on
European Communities (Access to Information on the Environment) Regulations 2007 to 2011 (S.I. No. 133 of 2007 and S.I. No. 662 of 2011) (hereafter referred to as the AIE Regulations), give legal rights to those seeking to access information on the environment from public authorities.
Under these regulations, information relating to the environment held by, or for, a public authority must be made available on request, subject to certain exceptions. The AIE regulations also oblige public authorities to be proactive in disseminating environmental information to the public.
The AIE Regulations provide a definition of environmental information; outline the manner in which requests for information may be submitted to public authorities and the manner in which public authorities are required to deal with requests e.g. timeframes for response. The regulations also provide for a formal appeals procedure in the event that a person is unhappy with a decision on their request.
The AIE Regulations broadly define “public authorities” to encompass all bodies that have a role in public administration and that possess environmental information. It is important to note that this definition is broader in scope than the definition of “public body” in the FoI Acts.
Under the 2011 Regulations, the Minister is required to publish an indicative list of public authorities that are subject to the AIE Regulations. These are:
The AIE Regulations define environmental information as:
“any information in written, visual, aural, electronic or any other material form on—
The AIE Regulations provide for access to both environmental information held by or for a public authority.
Requests for Access to Information on the Environment should be made to:
When making a request for information under the Access to Information on the Environment Regulations you are required to:
Normally you will be notified of the decision on your request within 1 month of its receipt. Where, due to the complexity or volume of the information required, we are unable to respond within the one month timeframe, we are required to write to the applicant within the month, indicating when a response will issue. This date should not be more than two months from the receipt of the original request.
If you have any queries the Information officer can be contacted at foi@Defence.ie
As provided for in the AIE Regulations, there is no initial fee required when lodging a request for information under AIE. However, the regulations allow a public authority to charge a reasonable fee for the cost of supplying the environmental information; Article 15 is the relevant provision. As per Circular AIE/2/2017, a public authority may charge for information supplied under the regulations. This charge may include not only postal and photocopying costs, but also to costs attributable to the time spent by staff on answering an individual request for information, which includes the time spent on searching for the information and putting it in the form required.
List of Fees
The following charges apply:
Details of any charges that apply will be notified to requesters in advance of processing the request.
Limited means
If you are advised of a charge and it is beyond your means, it is open to you to request that we reduce or waive the fee. If you wish to pursue this option, we will require some evidence that your means are limited, for example, evidence that you hold a current medical card or are in receipt of a social welfare benefit.
If you consider that your original request for environmental information was refused wholly or partially, or was otherwise not properly dealt with in accordance with the provisions of the AIE Regulations, you may, not later than one month following the receipt of the decision from the Department, request that the Department carry out an internal review of the decision in part or in whole.
No fee will be charged for the internal review process.
A written outcome of the review informing you of the decision, the reason for the decision and advising you of your right of appeal to the Commissioner for Environmental Information, including the time limits and fees associated with such an appeal, will be issued to you within one month of the date of receipt of the request.
A written appeal should be submitted to the Commissioner for Environmental Information at the:
Further contact details and information on the Commissioner's Office are contained on the Office of the Information Commissioner (OIC) website at http://www.ocei.ie/
The AIE Regulations provide that a fee of €50 must be charged for an appeal to the Commissioner for Environmental Information. However, provision is also made for a reduced appeal fee of €15 for medical card holders and their dependents.