What is Access to Information on the Environment (AIE)?
The Access to Information on the Environment (AIE) Regulations provide citizens with the right to access environmental information held by, or for, the EPA or other public authorities.
What can I ask for?
You can ask for environmental information held by, or for, the EPA, and a list of what constitutes environmental information is defined in the AIE regulations.
The environmental information you require may already be available on our website, via our Freedom of Information Publication Scheme, or at the EPA Offices, as described in Public Access to Licensing Files or Public Access to Enforcement Information, If so, you will not have to use the formal AIE process.
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.
Do I have to pay?
There is no fee to make a request under the AIE Regulations. However, the regulations do allow a public authority to charge a reasonable fee for the cost of supplying the environmental information.
The EPA has set the following charges:
- search, retrieval and copying of records: €20 per hour
- photocopy: €0.04 per sheet
Details of any charges that apply will be advised to you 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, in certain circumstances, if applying a charge would not be reasonable.
How do I make an AIE request?
You can email your request to AIE@epa.ie
You can also send your request by post to:
AIE Officer
EPA Headquarters
PO Box 3000
Johnstown Castle Estate
Co. Wexford
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,
- Be as specific as possible,
- Let us know what environmental information you require and in what preferred format.
Using AI tools for your AIE request
We understand that making an AIE request may be something you are doing for the first time or not very often. AI tools are increasingly used to help make requests. However, the EPA would recommend that where possible you use your own words when making a request to help us identify specifically the records that you are seeking.
Sometimes AI tools can provide unnecessarily long and complex requests which take much longer to process and may involve us contacting you to seek a more focused and detailed request. However, we do understand that AI is useful to many requesters. In this situation, we would ask that you include a sentence in your request to say that “My request / parts of my request were prepared with an AI tool. I have read over and confirm the details of the request”.
The Office of the Information Commissioner has prepared an information page on its website about the Use of AI tools in preparing material for AIE requests.
The page is available at:
Assistance in making requests
A guide to the functions of, and records held by, the EPA are available in our Freedom of Information Publication Scheme.
If you have any queries the AIE Officer may be contacted by telephone at +353 (0)53 9160600 or by email at AIE@epa.ie
What happens next?
In line with our processes, upon receipt of your request the EPA will acknowledge it within 10 working days and we typically respond within 20 working days. If more time is needed, we will notify you in writing. The EPA may grant, part grant, or refuse the information requested.
If I'm denied access to information, can I appeal against the decision?
You can ask the EPA for an internal review by a Programme Manager. We will let you know the result of the review within one month.
If you are not happy with the outcome of the internal review, you can ask for a review by the Commissioner for Environmental Information.
Learn more
View the AIE Legislation
View AIE Statistics for the EPA and other public bodies
Read more about how to access information under the Freedom of Information Act