My Department has issued guidelines to local authorities for dealing with customer complaints. A copy of these guidelines can be downloaded from www.environ.ie. Local authorities generally have put in place a multiple stage procedure for dealing with customer complaints, including the case of a refusal to release records. The first stage generally is to discuss the complaint at the point of service, as this is usually the quickest and most efficient way to address the matter. If a complainant is unhappy with the outcome of the first stage a formal complaint can be made to the Authority’s Customer Services Officer. If the matter is not resolved following this engagement with the local authority, it is open to the complainant to request copies of records under the Freedom of Information Acts 1997 – 2003, or where appropriate under the European Communities (Access to Information on the Environment) Regulations 2007 to 2011, to bring the matter to the attention of the Office of the Ombudsman or the
Office of the Information Commissioner or the Office of the Commissioner for Environmental Information, as appropriate.
