Collection
Make an appeal
From Office of the Commissioner for Environmental Information (OCEI)
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You can make an online appeal to OCEI if you wish to appeal against the decision of a public authority on your request for access to environmental information. The standard cost of making an appeal is €50. If you have a medical card - or you are the dependent of someone who holds a medical card - the cost is €15.
If you are a person or third party whose interests would be affected by the disclosure of the environmental information concerned, you can appeal by email to info@ocei.ie
For more information on this type of appeal, please see section 6 of this page.
Before you appeal, please ensure you have done the following:
- Asked a public authority for access to environmental information (or proof that the public authority asked for more time to process your request)
- Got a reply from that public authority about your request
- Made an appeal to the public authority about their decision (interval review)
- Got another reply from the public authority that you are unhappy with
You must appeal to the OCEI within one month of:
- receiving the public authority's decision on your request for internal review OR
- when you should have received such a decision - which is within one month of when the public authority received your request for internal review - unless the public authority extended the time allowed for a decision.
If special circumstances led you to being late in appealing, you can explain this in the online form.
If you do not meet these requirements, the OCEI cannot accept your appeal. You may wish to restart the process by making a new request for access to environmental information to the public authority. If you choose to do this, it is recommended that you explain to the public authority that you are doing so in order to avail, if necessary, of your right of appeal.
Before you appeal, we recommend that you gather all records of your dealings with the public authority in relation to the request.
These usually include:
- Your request for environmental information
- Any correspondence from the public authority saying that it extended the time in which to process your request
- The public authority's decision on your request
- Your request for an internal review of the decision
- The public authority's decision on your request for an internal review
- If appropriate, evidence that you are eligible to pay a reduced fee (medical card)
- If appropriate, evidence that you are authorised to appeal on behalf of another person or persons (including an unincorporated association or a legal person such as a company)
If you have these records available in electronic form you will be able to upload them. If you are unable to do this, you can still appeal online and email or post them to us.
The standard cost of making an appeal is €50. If you have a medical card - or you are the dependent of someone who holds a medical card - the cost is €15.
Print the PDF document below and send it to: Office of the Commissioner for Environmental Information (OCEI), 6 Earlsfort Terrace, Dublin 2, D02 W773.
Appeal form for the Commissioner for Environmental Information
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If you are a person or third party whose interests would be affected by the disclosure of the environmental information concerned, you can appeal by email to info@ocei.ie
A fee of €15 will apply. You cannot make an appeal of this type through this website.
Please provide the following information in your appeal:
• Your name, address, telephone number, email address and any other contact details
• The name of the public body
• The reference number of the public body's decision (if you have it)
• Details of the parts of the public body's decision you are unhappy with and which you want us to review
You must appeal to the OCEI not later than one month after the receipt of the decision of the public body to disclose environmental information. If the public body is not made aware that you have appealed the decision within this timeframe, there is a risk that the environmental information will be released to the requestor. We will notify the public body once we receive your appeal, but you may also wish to inform the public body that you intend to appeal in order to avoid this happening