A number ofcomplaints about Ireland’s implementation of the Aarhus Convention have beenpublished by the Department of Environment, Community and Local Government.
The AarhusConvention, which Ireland signed up to in 2012, ensures public participation inthe decision making process on environmental planning.
As part ofthe report, the department has published submissions from 21 agencies who wereinvolved in the first phase of consultation which began in June of last year.
They can beviewed on the department’s website and include submissions from agencies suchas An Taisce, Coillte and Eirgrid.
An Taisce inparticular was critical of the first draft of the implementation report whichit says was “a tick-box response approach detailing Ireland’s legislativeresponse to the implementation”.
Othersubmissions include one from Westmeath councillor Denis Leonard who says thatthe consultation process needs to be “streamlined” for local individuals andcommunities to become more involved with planning issues.
“Communitiesshould not be finding out about large infrastructural process through theirlocal newspaper years down a company’s planning process but should partner fromthe beginning to protect what is incumbent on all of us to protect,” Leonardwrote.
A secondconsultation phase was completed in November 2013 with 12 further submissionsreceived.
The reportpublished today by the department outlined a number of the criticisms made bythe various submissions and published official response to them. Theseresponses are also available to read online.
EnvironmentMinister Phil Hogan says that public participation is central to the AarhusConvention and thanked those who made submissions.
“The levelof public engagement in the development of the report illustrates the growinginterest in this area in Ireland, ” he said.
