FF Bill would ease curbs on environmental information

FIANNA Fail is to introduce a Bill in the Dail today to provide "much more liberal" and speedy access to information on the environment held by public authorities.

Mr Noel Dempsey, the party's environment spokesman, called on the Government yesterday to support the Bill. But he said that, in any event, Fianna Fail was "committed to implementing its provisions on our return to Government."

He conceded that the regulations governing access to environmental information introduced in 1993 by the then Fianna Fail Minister for the Environment Mr Michael Smith, amounted to minimalist compliance with the relevant EU directive.

Following complaints from environmental groups, amended regulations made last year had "hardly advanced from their original minimal provisions" and contained "nearly every single optional exemption contained in the directive," he said.

The one month time limit for responding to a request for information was "too long and too vague". The response given often fell "far short" of the request while the discretionary grounds for refusing to give information "facilitate evasion".

Mr Dempsey said there had been an expectation that the Government's Freedom of Information Bill would address these shortcomings, but it did not. Both the Environmental Protection Agency and An Bord Pleanala were excluded from the list of agencies it covered.

At present, he noted, the only recourse for any citizen who is refused access to environmental information is to go to the Ombudsman, whose recommendations are not binding, or to seek a judicial review, "which is prohibitively expensive".

Under the Bill, public authorities would be required to respond to requests for information within 14 days. Any refusal could be appealed to an independent appeals officer, appointed by the Minister who would have to give a decision within four days.

Mr Dempsey said that a free flow of information on the environment was the cornerstone of widespread public participation in the decision making process. It was only in this way that partnership could be developed and "informed consent" sought.

"I emphasise that the object of environment policy must be to sustain and enhance, not merely, protect, the environment. Flashing the red light as the juggernaut comes around the bend is not a credible policy for managing the environment."

At the moment, he said, the policy making process was "divided between the haves and have nots", between those who had easy access to information and "the great majority of citizens and communities who struggle with difficulty to secure vital information".