S.I. No. 133/1993:

ACCESS TO INFORMATION ON THE ENVIRONMENT REGULATIONS, 1993.

ACCESS TO INFORMATION ON THE ENVIRONMENT REGULATIONS, 1993.

The Minister for the Environment, in exercise of the powers conferred on him by sections 6 and 110 of the Environmental Protection Agency Act, 1992 (No. 7 of 1992) and following consultation with every other Minister of the Government, hereby makes the following Regulations:

1. These Regulations may be cited as the Access to Information on the Environment Regulations, 1993.

2. In these Regulations--

( a ) a reference to an article is a reference to an article of these Regulations,

( b ) a reference to a sub-article or paragraph is a reference to the sub-article or paragraph of the provision in which the reference occurs unless there is an indication that a reference to some other provision is intended.

3. (1) In these Regulations--

"public authority" means

( a ) a public authority for the purposes of the Environmental Protection Agency Act, 1992 , having public administration functions and responsibilities, and possessing information, relating to the environment,

( b ) any person or body, other than a public authority as defined in paragraph (a), which is under the control of such a public authority and has public responsibilities for the environment and possesses information relating to the environment.

(2) The public authority by which any person or body referred to in paragraph (1) (b) is controlled may decide whether the powers, functions and duties assigned under these Regulations to that person or body will be exercised directly by the person or body or by the aforesaid public authority.

(3) These Regulations apply to information relating to the environment other than--

( a ) information held in connection with or for the purposes of any judicial or legislative function, or

( b ) information which, under any statutory provision apart from these Regulations, is required to be made available, whether for inspection or otherwise, to persons generally.

4. (1) A public authority shall, notwithstanding any other statutory provision and subject only to the conditions and exceptions provided for in these Regulations, make available any information relating to the environment to which these Regulations apply to any person who requests it.

(2) A request for information in accordance with sub-article (1) shall--

( a ) be made in writing,

( b ) state the name and address of the person making the request, and

( c ) state, in terms which are as specific as possible, the information which is the subject of the request.

5. A public authority shall not make available information in accordance with article 4 where the information requested relates to--

( a ) personal information held in relation to an individual who has not given his consent to the disclosure of the information, or

( b ) material supplied to the public authority by a third party where that third party was not, or is not capable of being put, under a legal obligation to supply the material,

or where the disclosure of the information would make it more likely that the environment to which such information relates will be damaged.

6. (1) A public authority may refuse to make available information in accordance with article 4 where the information requested affects--

( a ) international relations, national defence or public security,

( b ) matters which are sub judice, or which are or have been under inquiry (including disciplinary inquiries), or which are the subject of preliminary investigation proceedings,

( c ) the confidentiality of the deliberations or proceedings of public authorities, or

( d ) commercial or industrial confidentiality, or intellectual property,

or where the information requested relates to internal communications of the public authority or to material which is still in the course of completion.

(2) A public authority may refuse to make available information in accordance with article 4 where the request is manifestly unreasonable or is formulated in too general a manner.

7. Nothing in article 5 or article 6 (1) shall authorise a public authority not to make available, or to refuse to make available, information which, although held with information to which article 5 or article 6(1) relates, may be separated from this latter information.

8. (1) A public authority shall respond as soon as possible to a request for information in accordance with article 4 and in any case not later than two months from the date on which such request is received.

(2) Where in accordance with article 5 a public authority does not make available information, or where in accordance with article 6 it refuses to make available information, it shall specify in writing the reasons for not making, or for refusing to make, available the information requested.

9. A public authority may make a charge for the making available of information in accordance with article 4, provided always that such charge shall not exceed an amount which is reasonable having regard to the cost of making available the information.

GIVEN under the Official Seal of the Minister for the Environment, this

20th day of May, 1993.

MICHAEL SMITH,

Minister for the Environment.

EXPLANATORY NOTE.

These regulations set out the procedures for public access to information relating to the environment held by public authorities in accordance with the provisions of Council Directive of June, 1990, No. 90/313/EEC (O.J. No. L158/56 of 23 June, 1990) on the Freedom of Access to Information on the Environment. The Regulations also provide certain grounds for refusal of information and establish other procedures relevant to processing of requests by public authorities.