Vol. 459 No. 6
47 Mr. E. Byrne asked the Minister for the Environment the average response time to queries under the Environment Regulations, 1993, regarding access to information; the proposals, if any, he has to speed up the response time; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18594/95]
While the information sought is not routinely compiled in my Department, some details of requests for information were collected in 1994 for the specific purpose of reviewing the first year of operation of the regulations. The review, published in April 1995, indicated that 43.8 per cent of requests were responded to within one month. A further 31.4 per cent were responded to within two months, which is the statutory time period specified in the regulations. Because the information was received in the form of percentages over set periods, it is not possible to derive an average response time.
Arising from the findings of the review, and from Government commitments to improve access to information generally, I have made a commitment to improve the regulations, including reducing the period for response to requests to one month, as a general rule. Amending regulations are being finalised at present.
