Department of the Environment Northern Ireland

The complainants requested a legal opinion regarding a planning application. The DOE withheld this information under regulation 12(5)(f) of the EIR. During the course of the Commissioner’s investigation, the DOE also sought to rely on the exception at regulation 12(5)(b). The Commissioner is satisfied that the information requested is environmental information and also finds that regulation 12(5)(b) is engaged. The Commissioner has also considered the public interest in relation to this exception and is of the view that the public interest in maintaining the exception outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information. The Commissioner also finds that the DOE breached regulation 14(2) in that it failed to provide the complainants with an adequate refusal notice within the time period specified in the EIR.