FOI & AIE
Freedom of Information
The Climate Change Advisory Council is a prescribed body under the Freedom of Information (FOI) Acts 1997, 2003 and 2014.
FOI establishes three statutory rights:
- The right to access official records held by Government Departments or other public bodies listed in the Act;
- A right for each person to have official information relating to himself or herself amended where it is incomplete, incorrect or misleading; and,
- A right to obtain reasons for decisions affecting oneself.
The Climate Change Advisory Council signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the EPA in regards to areas of shared responsibility in relation to the Freedom of Information. Please click here to access the Memorandum of Understanding between the CCAC and EPA.
A log of FOI & AIE requests can be accessed here.
FOI related enquiries can be sent to: info@climatecouncil.ie
Publication Scheme
Section 8 of the Freedom of Information Act 2014 requires FOI bodies to prepare and publish as much information as possible in an open and accessible manner on a routine basis outside of FOI, having regard to the principles of openness, transparency and accountability as set out in Sections 8(5) and 11(3) of the Act. This allows for the publication or giving of records outside of FOI provided that such publications or giving of access is not prohibited by law. The scheme commits FOI bodies to making information available as part of their normal business activities in accordance with this scheme.
The Climate Change Advisory Council, as per the Memorandum of Understanding with the EPA, is responsible for maintaining their own FOI and AIE procedures and structure. The Council has therefore prepared its FOI Publication Scheme in accordance with the FOI Act 2014 and is published below.
To find out more about Freedom of Information and the legislation, please visit http://foi.gov.ie/
A copy of the Council's publication scheme can be accessed here: Climate Change Advisory Council Publication Scheme
Access to Information on the Environment
What can I ask for?
You can ask for environmental information held by, or for, the Climate Change Advisory Council. Environmental information is defined in the AIE regulations and determines what is available under the AIE regulations.
The environmental information you require may already be available on the Council's website or its offices.
The Council also publishes environmental information on its Freedom of Information Publication Scheme.
What is the definition of environmental information?
The AIE Regulations provide a definition of environmental information and outline the manner in which requests for information should be made to the Council. environmental information can be held in any material form including electronic, written, visual or aural.
Information not available under the AIE regulations?
The AIE regulations do not apply to environmental information that is required to be made available under any other statutory provision.
Information that does not come within the scope of the definition of environmental information, and which is not already publicly available, as outlined above, may be requested under the Freedom of Information Act 2014.
How do I make an AIE request?
Email info@climatecouncil.ie or write to:
Climate Change Advisory Council Secretariat
McCumiskey House
Richview
Clonskeagh Road
Dublin 14
D14 YR62
In your correspondence you should:
- State that your request is being made under the AIE Regulations,
- Give your name, address and any other relevant contact details,
- Being as specific as possible, tell us what environmental information you require and in what preferred format.
Decision on a request
A decision on your request may be to grant, part grant or refuse the information requested and will issue as soon as possible but no later than one month from the date of receipt of your request. There is provision in the regulations to extend this one month period under certain circumstances.
The regulations set out mandatory and discretionary grounds for refusal of information. In either case we must specify in writing the reasons for refusal.
Where the information is held by a public authority other than the Council we will either refer your request directly to the appropriate public authority or advise you of the appropriate public authority to whom your request should be directed.
If I'm denied access to information, can I appeal against the decision?
Yes. You can ask the Council for an internal review by a more senior officer. Your request should be made within one month of receipt of notification of the decision. The internal reviewer will inform you of the result of the review within one month.
If you are not satisfied with the outcome of the internal review, you can ask the Commissioner for Environmental Information to review the matter. Your request for appeal must be made within one month of the decision date.
Do I have to pay?
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.
The Council has set the following charges:
- search, retrieval and copying of records: €20 per hour
- photocopy: €0.04 per sheet
- CD Rom: €10
- radiograph: €6
- Details of any charges that apply will be advised in the final decision letter. Please note that the fee may be waived where the cost is estimated at less than €100.
We may also disregard charges if the record contains only personal information and if, having regard to the means of the requester, it would not be reasonable to apply one.
Assistance in making requests
A guide to the functions of, and records held by, the Council are available in our Freedom of Information Publication Scheme.
If you have any queries the Secretariat may be contacted by telephone at 01 2680180 or by email at info@climatecouncil.ie
Learn more
View the AIE Legislation
View AIE Statistics for public bodies
Read more about how to access information under the Freedom of Information Act