The Gazette 1993

GAZETTE

JAN/FEB 1993 '

SYS Spring Conference Jump into Spring at Adare Manor, the venue for the next SYS Conference which will be held on the weekend of 5-7 March, 1993. Application forms are enclosed with this Gazette and as the number of delegates is limited it is advisable to book early. Copies of the papers delivered at the SYS Autumn 1992 Conference, held in Galway, are now available on request from Delphine Kelly, c/o A & L Goodbody. The papers are as follows:- Resolution by Tim Bouchier-Hayes, Partner, McCann FitzGerald. The paper outlines the pros and cons of arbitration and other options to resolve disputes. Building Regulations - Who Should Certify Compliance? by Rory O'Donnell, Senior Partner, Rory O'Donnell & Co. The paper highlights the importance of obtaining certificates of compliance from adequately qualified professionals and sets out which qualifications are acceptable. Current Developments in Environmental Law by Garret Gill, Partner, Matheson Ormsby Prentice. The paper highlights the ever increasing complexity of environmental law and its importance to practitioners. It deals with the recent Irish legislation, the implementation of various EC directives and regulations and various international conventions and protocols. Arbitration and Alternative Dispute

request for information has been unreasonably refused or ignored, or has been inadequately answered may seek a judicial or administrative review of the decision in accordance with the national legal system, Art. 4.

force on 23 April, 1992 and the necessary regulations are currently being drafted by the Department,. What remains to be done by the Minister of the Environment is to bring into force the regulations and administrative provisions necessary to make the provisions of the directive and of the enabling section of the' EPA Act, 1992 effective. What remains to be seen is whether or not the exceptions will be interpreted in so restrictive a manner as to effectively limit the broad scope of the directive indicated by the definition and by the general access to environmental information clearly envisaged by the directive as stated in Art. 1: "The objective of this Directive is to ensure freedom of access to, and dissemination of, information on the environment held by public authorities and to set out the basic terms and conditions on which such information should be made available."

Is there a Fee for Information?

Yes. But such charge may not exceed a reasonable cost, Art. 5.

Must General Information Be Available to the Public?

Yes. Member states are obliged to provide general information to the public on the state of the environment by such means as the periodic publication of descriptive reports, Art. 7. Comment: This obligation would seem to be well met by the quarterly environmental bulletin published by the Department of the Environment and available on request. Also The Environmental Information Service, ENFO, at 17 St. Andrews Street, Dublin 2, Ph. 01-6793144, has a vast amount of information on the environment and on related topics, and is open to the public. To date, Ireland has implemented this directive to the extent that an enabling act, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Act, 1992, was enacted in April, 1992. Section 110 (1) of this Act states that the Minister of the Environment, following consultation with any other Minister of the Government whom he considers is concerned, "shall make regulations for the making available by such public authorities as may be specified of specified information relating to the environment to any person upon request and, in particular, for the purpose of giving full effect to Council Directive 90/313/EEC." Section 110 (2) outlines what these regulations may provide for. In essence this includes the different provisions of the directive. Finally si 10(3), repeats almost verbatim the definition in the directive of "information relating to the environment." Section 110 came into

Much depends on what use is made in practice of such exceptions as;

• the confidentiality of the proceedings of public authorities,

• commercial and industrial confidentiality,

• internal communications.

The then Minister of State at the Department of the Environment, Mary Harney, speaking of the EPA Act, 1992 and the Agency's future performance certainly indicated that we can hope for legislation that will be effective when she said "if this legislation should prove inadequate or ineffective, I will not shirk from bringing forward amending legislation" (IT 16.4.92). *Donal O'Leary BL., is a practising barrister specialising in Environmental Law and is a founding member of IELA, the Irish Environmental Law Association.

Gavin Buckley SYS Public Relations Officer

•

Donal O'Leary BL

4