How To Get Information Under The AIE Regulations
How do I ask for information from Wexford County Council under the European Communities (Access to Information on the Environment) Regulations 2007 (AIE Regulations)?
1. You must ask for environmental information in writing, either by post, email or fax. Requests should be addressed to:
County Secretary,Wexford County Council,Carricklawn,Wexford.
2. You must specify that you are asking for the information under the AIE Regulations.
3. You must specify the environmental information that you want to access. Your request should be as specific as possible so that we can clearly identify the information. This will reduce the possibility of delays.
4. You must state how you would like to access the information. For example, do you want photocopies of the documents, do you want to come in and view the original files or get copies of them on computer discs?
Generally, the Council must respond to AIE requests within one month.
Can we refuse to give you information under the AIE Regulations?
Under the AIE Regulations we may refuse to give you access to environmental information on certain grounds:
- international relations, national defence or public security;
- the course of justice (including criminal inquiries and disciplinary inquiries);
- commercial or industrial confidentiality;
- intellectual property rights; material in the course of completion;
- internal communications of public authorities;
- the request is considered to be unreasonable, due to the volume or range of information sought;
- the request is too general.
We must refuse to give you access to environmental information on other grounds listed below:
- personal information;
- information supplied by a third party on a voluntary basis;
- protection of the environment to which information relates;
- confidentiality of the proceedings of public authorities.
Can I appeal an AIE decision made by Wexford County Council?
Under the AIE Regulations, if we decide to fully refuse or partially refuse your request for environmental information you can use the comprehensive appeals system to challenge our decision.
Internal Review
The first step of the appeals procedure is to seek a review of the original decision we have made by a senior member of staff other than the original decision-maker. This senior staff member is called the Internal Reviewer and this first step is called an Internal Review. Requests for internal reviews must be made within one month of our original decision.
We will review our decision where
(a) it was decided to -
- refuse all or part of a request;
- charge a fee that is considered to be excessive; or
(b) the answer is considered to be inadequate.
If you have not received a reply from us within one month of making your original request, it will be treated the same as if we refused your request. This allows you to proceed to internal review.
Requests for an internal review should be submitted in writing to:
Director of Service, Corporate Affairs,Wexford County Council,Carricklawn,Wexford.
The Council must complete the review within one month.
Appeal to the Commissioner for Environmental Information
Following completion of the internal review, you may seek an independent review of the decision from the Commissioner for Environmental Information. Appeals to the Commissioner must be made within one month of the internal review decision. You may also appeal to the Commissioner if the Council does not reply to your request for an internal review of the original decision within one month.
Appeals must be made in writing to the Commissioner for Environmental Information at the following address:
Office of the Commissioner for Environmental Information,18 Lower Leeson Street,Dublin 2.Phone: (01) 6395689
Third parties affected by the decision of the Council may also appeal to the Commissioner against the Council's decision.
You must include the appropriate fee with your appeal.
If we decide to refuse access to the environmental information you have requested or to impose a fee, we will send you information about how to appeal our decision.
