'Unacceptable' commitment by public bodies when faced with environmental information requests

PUBLIC BODIES, RANGING from An Bord Pleanála to Coillte and local councils, have shown an “unacceptable” lack of engagement with information laws, according to the Commissioner for Environmental Information.

The office carries out independent reviews of decisions made by public authorities on requests for environmental information. Describing this as a “staggering statistic by any measure”, Deering said it represents an increase of 36% on 2021, a year in which the annulment rate was “already a cause for concern” to the office.

Bodies criticised include An Bord Pleanála, the Department of Agriculture, Coillte and the National Transport Authority. ‘Limited’ response In one case highlighted by Deering, his office reprimanded Wicklow County Council for how it handled a request from a local who had sought information about alleged pollution of River Slaney.

It later annulled the decision of the council and described the council’s conduct around the appeal as unacceptable. “In many cases the actions of public authorities fail to reach the standards required by the AIE Regulations. Lack of clear communication and engagement has, in many instances, caused significant delays to the completion of appeals.”

There was also a significant increase in the number of ‘deemed refusals’ – cases where a public authority failed to make a decision on an AIE request on time.

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