Ireland is a party to the legally binding Aarhus Convention on environmental democracy. It scored well overall on EDI due mostly to its very good score on the Transparency pillar. Of the three pillars, Ireland scored highest on transparency, because of a clearly defined right to access environmental information by request, as well as an obligation for government authorities to proactively make environmental information available to the public. However, it received a fair score on the Participation pillar. While the public can participate in a variety of decisions affecting the environment, the government is not obliged to ensure the public is made aware of these opportunities. The public also does not enjoy the right to give input into the preparation of legally binding rules for the environment. As for the Justice pillar, Ireland scored well, with some room for improvement. The public has the right to challenge government and private actors in environmental matters. Expanding mechanisms that ensure affordability when using the justice system would improve IrelandÂ’s score. Overall, Ireland scored well and could continue to expand environmental democracy by addressing these issues and others identified through the EDI indicators.
Visit the Environmental Democracy Index to explore the EDI score.
