Beyond Cycling / Comment & Analysis: The Green Party has always been strong on transparency but — sadly — the Department of Transport under Minister Eamon Ryan doesn’t seem to reflect this. To be fair, it was similar with Shane Ross — he was a champion for transparency as a journalist but it didn’t quite translate as a Minister.
In February, Labour TD Seán Sherlock and Aontú leader Peadar Tóibín looked for the review. Ryan said: “After the necessary approvals have been secured on both sides of the border, including by the Government, my Department will publish the report.”
This approach is not compatible with environmental law. The Department knows it because they said as much in a later reply (see below).
Transparency also cannot just mean you release documents when it suits you.
There’s also no reason to delay the release of a draft because of the Northern Ireland Executive not being up and running. Such an excuse — which the Department in fairness has not publically stated directly — is also not compatible with environmental law.
But more worrying, the Department is telling different stories to me in response to an Access to Information on the Environment (AIE) request vs what they are saying to Fine Gael TD Fergus O’Dowd this month in a parliamentary response:
![Dear Mr. Ginty,
I refer to your request dated 6 March 2023 which you made under the Access to Information on the Environment (AIE) Regulations and which sought “A copy of the All Island Strategic Rail Review”
I have made a final decision to refuse your request under Articles 8(a)(iv) and 9(2)(d) of the Regulations and with regard to, in the context of the public interest, Article 10(3) of the Regulations and in conjunction with Section 29(1)(a) of the FOI Act. I do so as the record sought, having recently been received in the Department, is now subject to a deliberative process with the intent that following consideration by the Minister it be brought to Government at a meeting of the Cabinet.](https://i0.wp.com/irishcycle.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Fuyh5UTWcAcxPm4.jpg?resize=640%2C486&quality=89&ssl=1)
![Reply from Eamon Ryan: As the Deputy may be aware, the Strategic Rail Review is being undertaken in co-operation with the Department for Infrastructure in Northern Ireland. The results of the Review will inform the development of the railway sector on the Island of Ireland over the coming decades.
Work on the Review is now at an advanced stage. However, before the Review can be formally approved it will require consideration under relevant environmental regulations, in particular the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) regulations. If deemed applicable, then a draft of the Review will need to be published for public consultation under the relevant environmental regulations before it can be formally finalised and approved. It is anticipated that any such consultation for the purposes of the environmental regulations would take place during Q2.
Following the completion of environmental regulatory procedures and finalisation of the report, the Review will be submitted for my formal approval and ultimately to Government, as well as to the Minister for Infrastructure in Northern Ireland. Should there continue to be an absence of Ministers in the NI Executive, approval will be considered taking into account the decision-making framework set out in the Northern Ireland (Executive Formation etc.) Act 2022 or relevant legislation in place at the time.
It is expected that the final Review will therefore be published in the second half of 2023.](https://i0.wp.com/irishcycle.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/FuyinHNXsAE_IEE.png?resize=640%2C283&quality=80&ssl=1)
The EU law that backs the AIE process, does not allow for non-active drafts of documents to be withheld. The department didn’t use that as an excuse directly maybe because my request had preempted it.
Instead, they relied on the nonsense that it “is now subject to a deliberative process”.
They however told Deputy O’Dowd that “a draft of the Review will need to be published for public consultation under the relevant environmental regulations before it can be formally finalised and approved” and that’s expected “during Q2.”
These aren’t compatible statements.
And what deliberative process is even being referred to? The response to me seems to reply it is the Cabinet approval of the draft or maybe even the final document. If it is the draft, how does that make any sense if that draft is going to public consultation first? Is Cabinet time really being wasted on approving the start of a public consultation process?
If the final document is being referred to, I didn’t request the final report, and the draft will be published first.
But there is a change within the response — the February response wasn’t compatible with EU law, while this month the Department admits that “a draft of the Review will need to be published for public consultation under the relevant environmental regulations.”
In rejecting AIE requests, the Department also did not outline reasons why releasing the report would harm the deliberative process, Courts have said that just stating something without explanation is not sufficient. It’s just referring to a line, it’s not explaining the reasoning.
Of course, if Departments were truly forced to explain their rejection of AIE or FOI requests, the number of rejections would decrease.
In reality, there’s a stronger chance that releasing the report will aid rather than harm the process. A draft is a draft, you don’t have to wait for the final to publish it. Governments and Departments need to stop treating transparency as a bad thing.
Both myself and Rail Users Ireland, a campaign group, separately requested internal reviews of the Department’s denial of AIE requests. The Department hasn’t even replied to us… if the Department is overloaded, it could just release the document as requested.
Of course, this level of thing is not something Eamon Ryan is likely to have seen, but — if he’s interested in transparency — he needs to tell his civil servants and maybe also his advisors to change their ways.