FOI and AIE Information

• Access to information on the environment is important to enable members of the public to know and understand what is happening in the environment around them. It also assists the public to participate in environmental decision making in an informed manner.
• The government ensures that members of the public have this access through implementation of the AIE Regulations in Ireland. Environmental information held by, or for, a public authority should be provided to any person who requests it from public authorities under the AIE Regulations.
• Particular procedures apply to this process and access to information may be refused in certain circumstances. There is also an appeals process in case a person is unhappy with a decision on their request.
• Requests under the AIE Regulations should be made to the public authority which the applicant believes holds the information.

The Access to Information on the Environment (AIE) Regulations 2007-2018 gives you the right to access environmental information held by, or for, Public Authorities.

Please state in your email / letter that your request is submitted under the AIE Regulations 2007-2018.
If you wish to request access to environmental information held by, or for, the Land Development Agency, please email [email protected] referencing ‘AIE’ in the subject line of your email.

Alternatively, you can post it to:
AIE Officer
4th Floor Ashford House
Tara St
Dublin 2

A request must state that it is being made under the AIE Regulations.

Since May 2021, the LDA publishes all non-personal requests and replies online.

The LDA requires customers to provide certain personal data in order to provide services and carry out the functions of the department. Your personal data may be exchanged with other government departments and agencies in certain circumstances, where lawful.

The LDA will notify you of the decision on your request within one month of our receiving it.

On receipt of an AIE request, the LDA will issue you with an acknowledgement letter outlining the date the request was received and the latest date by which a decision will be issued.

There is no fee to make a request under AIE Regulations. However, the regulations do allow a public authority to charge a reasonable fee for the cost of supplying the environmental information.

• There is no charge for submitting a request
• Search and Retrieval – €20 per hour (for requests that exceed the €100 minimum in terms of search, retrieval and copying), subject to the ceilings mentioned above.
• €0.04 per sheet for a photocopy.
• Internal review fee €30 (€10 for medical card holders). There is no fee for Internal Review for AIE Requests.
• Appeal to the Information Commissioner €50 (€15 for medical card holders).

You can request an internal review of the decision if your request for environmental information has been either wholly or partially refused, or if you believe it has not been dealt with in accordance with the provisions of the AIE Regulations. You should make this request for an internal review within one month of receiving the final decision.

Requests for internal reviews should be submitted to:
AIE Officer
2nd Floor Ashford House
Tara St
Dublin 2

If you are unhappy with the outcome of the internal review, you may ask the Office of the Commissioner for Environmental Information (OCEI) to review the matter. You should request an appeal to the OCEI within one month of receiving the decision of the internal review.

The European Communities (Access to Information on the Environment) Regulations 2007 (S.I. 133 of 2007), gives legal rights to those seeking access to information on the environment from public authorities.

These Regulations came into effect on 1 May 2007, repealing the previous legislation, the European Communities (Access to Information on the Environment) Regulations 1998. S.I. 662 of 2011, S.I. 615 of 2014 and S.I. 309 of 2018 revised these regulations further.

The amalgamation of these four pieces of legislation should be read together as one, and may be referred to as the European Communities (Access to Information on the Environment) Regulations 2007 to 2018.

An unofficial consolidation of the Regulations is available here.

Information relating to the environment held by, or for, a public authority must be made available on request to any person subject to certain exceptions.

The Regulations provide a definition of environmental information and outline the manner in which requests for information should be provided to public authorities. 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 give effect in Ireland to Directive 2003/4/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on Public Access to Environmental Information (the AIE Directive). This Directive repealed Council Directive 90/313/EEC, which was the previous EU instrument providing for access to environmental information.

The EU adopted the AIE Directive to give effect to the Access to Information pillar of the 1998 UNECE Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters (the Aarhus Convention).

The LDA maintains a record of all AIE requests that it receives and posts summaries online for reference purposes.

A database of AIE statistics has been maintained since 2013. This shows the numbers of AIE requests received by all public bodies nationally, along with certain other relevant details. Please note that the list of public authorities who have provided statistics return is not exhaustive. If a public body is not included here, this does not mean it is not subject to the AIE Regulations.

National AIE Statistics

In respect of non-personal requests, charges may be applied for the time spent finding records and for any reproduction costs incurred by the LDA in providing the material requested (search, retrieval and copying charges).

• Where the cost of search, retrieval and copying is less than €101, no fee is charged.
• Where the cost of search, retrieval and copying is greater than €500 but less than €700, a maximum charge of €500 applies.
• Where the cost of search, retrieval and copying is greater than €700, the Land Development Agency can refuse to process the requests

Details of actual charges relating to a request will be notified to the requester in writing.

• There is no charge for submitting a request
• Search and Retrieval – €20 per hour (for requests that exceed the €100 minimum in terms of search, retrieval and copying), subject to the ceilings mentioned above.
• €0.04 per sheet for a photocopy.
• Internal review fee €30 (€10 for medical card holders). There is no fee for Internal Review for AIE Requests.
• Appeal to the Information Commissioner €50 (€15 for medical card holders).

• There is no charge if the records concerned contain only personal information relating to the Requester, unless there are a significant number of records.
• If a Requester is claiming a reduced application fee, the request must be accompanied by the Medical Card registration number and a Requester’s consent to the verification of these details with the Health Service Executive.

The Requester may appeal any decision issued by LDA by writing to the FOI Officer seeking an internal review of the matter. A fee of €30 (€10 for medical card holders) may apply for such an appeal. There is no fee for Internal Review for AIE Requests. There is no fee for internal review applications concerning only personal information relating to oneself or in relation to a decision to impose a fee or deposit.

A Requester may appeal the decision that was issued following an internal review within six months by writing to the Office of the Information Commissioner. If a Requester makes an appeal, the Information Commissioner will fully investigate and consider the matter and issue a fresh decision. All appeals should be addressed to:

The Information Commissioner
6 Earlsfort Terrace, Dublin 2, D02 W773.
Tel: +353 1 639 5689
Local: 1890 22 30 30
Fax: +353 1 639 5674
E-mail: [email protected]

A fee of €50 (€15 for medical card holders) may apply for such an application. Again, there is no fee for appeals to the Office of the Information Commissioner concerning only personal information relating to oneself or in relation to a decision to impose a fee or deposit