RPSI.23.01
Open Data Directive
Open Data Request: Whether DAFM’s decision to refuse the appellant’s request for re-use of EIA screenings for felling licences was in compliance with the Regulations
Decision of the Information Commissioner in his capacity as Appeal Commissioner on an appeal made under Regulation 12 of the European Union (Open Data and Re-use of Public Sector Information) Regulations 2021 (the Regulations)
Case RPSI/22/05
National Landcover Map
Launched in March 2023, the National Landcover Map provides an unprecedented level of detail about land cover in the Republic of Ireland. It can be used by all kinds of public and private sector organisations to gain a deeper understanding of the environment and the challenges posed by development, habitat loss and climate change.
The National Landcover Map offers:
Exceptional detail about landcover in Ireland
The National Landcover Map has a resolution of at least 0.1 hectares, making it 250 times more detailed than CORINE, the pan-European landcover dataset
Over 10 million classified landcover features
Developed using an innovative mapping methodology, machine learning, and remote sensing techniques, the map describes millions of landscape features
36 different land classifications
The map features a set of landcover classifications designed specifically for Ireland to provide the best and most precise descriptions of landcover types commonly found across the country
Independently verified data
The National Landcover Map was created using a comprehensive and independent validation process in which over 20,000 landcover samples were verified by seven external stakeholders.
Use the National Landcover Map to:
Better understand landcover throughout Ireland
The National Landcover Map classifies natural vegetation, freshwater, and artificial surfaces across the whole of the Republic of Ireland, enabling users to gain a far deeper understanding of Ireland’s diverse environments
Make informed decisions
This new resource can be used in a myriad of ways to help people make informed decisions and balance the needs of the environment with the requirements of industry, housing, infrastructure and leisure activities
Save time and money
Those organisations that have previously developed their own landcover maps for specific sites or projects can now avoid this cost and save time by using the National Landcover Map instead
Collaborate more effectively with other organisations
By using the National Landcover Map in place of internally-created resources, organisations can use the same, standard landcover classifications as their partners and share data more easily.
The National Landcover Map was produced by TÉ in partnership with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and with the support of members of the cross-governmental national landcover and habitat mapping (NLCHM) working group.
Ready to get started?
The National Landcover Map is available to all organisations in Ireland. Government departments and public sector bodies can use the product at no additional cost, through the National Mapping Agreement. Commercial organisations can contact corporatesales@tailte.ie for pricing information.
https://www.tailte.ie/surveying/products/professional-mapping/national-land-cover-map/
The National Land Cover Map
A new Land Cover Map is available for Ireland, it was released on 21 March 2023.
Figure 1: Outline of the new national land cover map for Ireland (NLC 2018)
The new National Land Cover Map was produced by the National Mapping Division of Tailte Éireann (formerly Ordnance Survey of Ireland) in partnership with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The aim of a land cover map is to map what is physically present on the Earth’s surface, for example forests, grasslands, and artificial areas. This Land Cover Map was produced based on 2018 data and is known as NLC 2018. The map includes very detailed information on land cover types in Ireland and marks a significant improvement in land evidence. It will have many uses in environmental assessments on water, climate, air, noise, and biodiversity and will be an important resource into the future.
NLC 2018 is available from the Tailte Éireann, for further information please visit the Tailte Éireann website to link with the official Tailte Éireann Land Cover Map web page.
In addition to the data a National Land Cover Map 2018 – Final Report is also available. It provides details on how NLC 2018 was produced, the accuracy of the data and an initial assessment on how it changes our understanding of land cover statistics in Ireland. Below we provide more information on NLC 2018 summarising much of the information from the Final Report.
What is land cover?
To understand land cover better a useful explanation is that it refers to what is physically present on the Earth’s surface. This includes surfaces like natural vegetation, freshwater and non-living surfaces. Grasslands, forest areas and artificial surfaces, are all examples of land cover types.
It is important to note that land cover is different from land use. Land use specifically refers to how that land is used or the activity at that location. Uses can be environmental, economic, or social and are usually a result of human intervention or management. Figure 2 below aims to conceptually highlight the differences between land cover and land use.
Figure 2: Understanding the difference between land cover and land use (Source EPA)
Understanding the types of land cover in Ireland
In creating the National Land Cover Map, it was important to define all land cover types that can be mapped from the data available in Ireland. To achieve this, the EPA and Tailte Éireann both engaged with experts from across the land sector, while also looking at existing international standards, to help define a Land Cover Classification System for Ireland.
The Land Cover Classification System contains two levels of classification with 8 classes at Level 1, and 36 classes at Level 2. The Level 2 classes were used to produce NLC 2018 and can be aggregated into Level 1 classes. Table 1 provides an overview of the Land Cover Classification System for Ireland which will soon be officially published by the EPA.
Table 1: The National Land Cover Classification System for Ireland
How was the map developed?
With a National Land Cover Classification System providing the clarity on what needs to be mapped, a production methodology was developed by the EPA and Tailte Éireann to allow the map to be produced.
This was achieved using earth observation and machine learning technologies to analyse a combination of Tailte Éireann aerial imagery, existing national datasets and Sentinel 2 satellite imagery from the Copernicus Space Programme funded by the European Commission.
Highly trained expert operators actively managed these models using iterative processes and checks to ensure the accuracy of the data being produced. Each land cover class was mapped at a minimum mapping unit of less than 0.1-hectare, i.e., the data resolution. This is over 250 time more detailed than CORINE 2018, produced at a 25-hectare resolution, and previously the most commonly used land cover dataset prior to NLC 2018.
Further details of how the map was developed are available at the Tailte Éireann website.
National land cover 2018 mapping examples
The level of detail available within NLC 2018 is a significant improvement on previous data. To get a better understanding of this Figures 4 & 5 highlight the differences between NLC 2018 and CORINE 2018.
Figure 3: Tailte Éireann aerial image of Johnstown Castle Estate, EPA Headquarter, Co. Wexford
Figure 4: Shows the detail now available in the National Land Cover Map (NLC 2018) for Johnstown Castle Estate, EPA Headquarter, Co. Wexford
Figure 5: Shows the reduced detail of the CORINE 2018 data for Johnstown Castle Estate, EPA Headquarter, Co. Wexford.
Although there is less detail in CORINE data it provides a time series of information with data produced for 1990, 2000, 2006, 2012 and 2018. This provides important information as an indicator on how land cover has changed over time in Ireland. CORINE will also be produced into the future under the Copernicus Land Monitoring Service to preserve this valuable function.
Defining the accuracy of National land cover 2018
Greater detail in land cover mapping is welcome and will help develop a better understanding of our environment. However, all maps contain errors meaning it is important to define the accuracy of the data and understand the limitations that exist within the data.
In producing NLC 2018, a very comprehensive independent validation programme was established. This included assessment of over 22,000 data samples evenly distributed across all land cover classes. Samples were assessed, by independent stakeholders, for both class accuracy and geometric accuracy.
Once completed the samples were assessed by the EPA and CSO. The results of this assessment show that NLC 2018 has a high level of accuracy at both the Level 1 and 2 land cover classes. Overall accuracy, where all classes are combined into a single mean accuracy, shows that the data has a thematic accuracy (i.e., class accuracy) of 78.5% and 88.7%, at Level 2 and Level 1 respectively, while the geometric accuracy (i.e., area outline) is 87.2% – the same geometries apply to both classification levels.
The validation data has also been assessed at each individual class, meaning users can identify and take account of the performance of each class within NLC 2018. Charts 1 & 2 highlights the varying performance of Level 2 classes in terms of their thematic and geometric accuracy. From this we can see that there are many classes that perform very well with accuracies >80% and a few classes that perform less well with scores closer to 60% thematic accuracy. In general, most classes perform very well in terms of geometric accuracy.
Chart 1: Thematic accuracy for Land Cover Level 2 Classes
Chart 2: Geometric accuracy for Land Cover Level 2 Classes
Further details on the validation programme and the assessment of the accuracy of the map are available at the Tailte Éireann website.
The EPA will also be publishing a more in-depth analysis of the accuracy assessment results in 2023.
How does National land cover 2018 change our understanding of land cover in Ireland?
With the significant change in the detail of the land cover data, now available in NLC 2018, our understanding of national statistics in land cover are also changing. The Final Report for NLC 2018 provides an initial assessment of the national statistics for land cover based on this new data, below are a summary of these findings.
When comparing the NLC 2018 and CORINE 2018 data at Level 1, as shown in Chart 3, it highlights that Grassland and Peatlands were overestimated in CLC 2018, while Forest Areas, Cultivated Land, Health and Bracken, and Artificial Surfaces were underestimated.
Chart 3: Comparison of percentage national area at Level 1 class groupings for NLC 2018 and CORINE 2018.
A lot of the changes identified are as a result of the differences in the resolution of the data. CORINE 2018 has a low resolution of 25-hectares meaning that many smaller land cover classes are generalised into the dominant classes. Small features like hedgerows, ponds, houses etc. are often merged into dominant classes like grasslands in Ireland. In NLC 2018 the data resolution is much more detailed meaning these small features are mapped, this increases the representation of these classes and decreases the percentage area of dominant land cover classes. In summary NLC 2018 is more representative of all land cover classes in Ireland.
Although these dominant classes are lower in area than previously calculated, they are still the most common classes in Ireland. Chart 4 provides an overview of the percentage of national area that each NLC 2018 Level 2 class represents, please note these are draft figures at this stage.
Chart 4: Overview of the percentage of national area that each NLC 2018 Level 2 class represents
Chart 4 shows that by a large margin, Improved Grassland is the single most dominant land cover type in Ireland. It covers 2.93 million hectares or 41.53% of the total national area. It is the only class that exceeds 10% of the national area with the second most widespread class being Wet Grassland at 9.47%. These two grassland classes together account for over 50% of the national area.
Cultivated Land is the third most dominant land cover type in Ireland 6.05%, the map also shows it has a strong regional concentration in the East and Southeast. Transitional and Coniferous forest lands, both associated with plantation forestry account for 5.46% and 3.63% of the national area respectively. Blanket Bog and Wet Heath occupy 3.54% and 3.25% of the national area respectively.
The first national scale mapping of hedgerows in Ireland show that they cover 224,787 ha or 3.18% of the total national area.
All other classes are below 3% of the national area with full national-scale mapping achieved for the first time for many other land cover classes including Dry Heath (2.82%), Broadleaved Forest and Woodland (2.42%), Scrub (1.84%), Amenity Grassland (1.82%), Cutover Bog (1.56%) and Raised Bog (0.66%).
Acknowledgements:
The EPA and National Mapping Division of Tailte Éireann would like to thank the considerable support that was provided by key stakeholders throughout the project, in particular the following organisations:
- National Parks & Wildlife Service
- Teagasc
- Department of Agriculture, Food, and the Marine
- Central Statistics Office
- Atlantic Technical University
- Botanical, Environmental & Conservation (BEC) Consultants Ltd
- The Heritage Council
- Geological Survey of Ireland
For further on any of sections covered above refer to the National Land Cover Map 2018 – Final Report on Tailte Éireann website.
Further information on access to the data visit Tailte Éireann or contact corporatesales@tailte.ie
https://www.epa.ie/our-services/monitoring–assessment/assessment/mapping/national-land-cover-map/
Rivers Trust: Data Hub Project
Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage – Open Data Strategy
AIE -010-2023
Please see below responses to each of your questions in your request:
1. Any data audits conducted by or for NPWS to identify environmental datasets under the Open Data Directive
No data audits were conducted by of for NPWS in the specified request period of July 22nd 2021 to 18th January 2023 to identify environmental datasets under the Open Data Directive.
2. Directive 2019/1024/EU introduces the concept of high value datasets (HVDs). Please list any HVDs identified by NPWS
The European Commission’s ‘Implementing Regulation laying down a list of specific high-value datasets and the arrangements for their publication and re-use’ was recently published on 21st January 2023. NPWS have not yet identified data sets which meet the criteria specified in this regulation.
3. Under Regulation 4 of SI 376/2021 all Departments/Offices and relevant bodies under their aegis are obliged to supply to the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform with information as requested from time to time, such as open data progress reports. Provide copies of the NPWS progress reports as supplied to PER.
No NPWS progress reports were supplied to PER in the specified request period of July 22nd 2021 to 18th January 2023.
4. All Departments/Offices and relevant bodies under their aegis must assign responsibility to an officer for matters arising under these Regulations in line with the national Open Data Strategy. Please provide contacts for any Open Data officers appointed at NPWS from 2021 to date.
NPWS is part of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. The Departments Open Data section can be contacted at : opendata@housing.gov.ie.
No NPWS Open Data officers have been appointed in the request period July 22nd 2021 to 18th January 2023.
5. In line with Regulation 13 of SI 376/2021, the details of any new exclusive arrangements being entered into must be published online at least two months before they come into force. Please provide list of any exclusive arrangements agreed to date by NPWS.
Exclusive arrangements have not been identified to date.
6. Any exemptions sought by NPWS to the release of open data, and which datasets these exemptions related to
NPWS Open Data policy for its biodiversity data is available at
https://www.npws.ie/maps-and-data/open-data-policy#:~:text=NPWS%20Data%20Available%20by%20Request&text=the%20Intellectual%20Property%20Rights%20or,is%20still%20in%20draft%20form
This sets out the key reasons where NPWS biodiversity datasets are not available as Open Data, a follows;
the protection of the environment to which such information relates, such as the location of rare species – see our guidelines on access and usage of NPWS sensitive data;
the Intellectual Property Rights or copyright of the data, or part thereof, belong to a third party that has not given permission for its re-use;
there is personal data in the dataset and data protection restrictions apply; the dataset is unpublished as it is still in draft form.
7. Public Bodies must draft an Open Data Publication Plan. Provide a copy of any NPWS draft or completed open data plans to date
As set out in the data strategy for the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, the Department aims to build and manage an integrated data platform to inter alia deliver open data streams to the public by 2024
(https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/5fb13-data-strategy-foundations-sprint-2021-2024/)
8. All public bodies need to publish details of what data is available for re-use and the licencing conditions that apply (CC BY 4.0 Attribution advised). Please provide a list of (where this differs from data audit list, see above)
Where possible, NPWS publishes biodiversity data as Open Data, licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence.
Details of NPWS biodiversity data licencing conditions are available at
https://www.npws.ie/maps-and-data/open-data-policy
NPWS biodiversity data is published to;
NPWS website http://www.npws.ie,
https://www.npws.ie/maps-and-data
ISDE (Irish Spatial Data Exchange)
http://www.isde.ie/geonetwork/srv/eng/catalog.search#/home,
and harvested to;
https://www.data.gov.ie
https://osi.ie/services/geohive/.
NPWS data is also shared directly to the National Biodiversity Data Centre for onward publication via https://biodiversityireland.ie/
Licence details are provided in the metadata associated with each biodiversity data publication.
9. Copy of NPWS’s RPSI Policy (RPSI is Reuse of Public Sector Information)
Departmental level policy is publicly available at https://www.gov.ie/en/organisation-information/cac56-re-use-of-public-sector-information/
Schedule of records
There are no records, no records are provided.
OSi – Open Data Strategy
AIE Request
I. About OSi and Open Data
As a strong supporter of the Open Data Directive, OSi is committed to its implementation. OSi currently publishes 122 datasets, and it provides access to many other open datasets through its GeoHive platform (https://www.geohive.ie/ ), which is the state’s geospatial data hub.
As part of OSi’s compliance with EU Commission Implementing Regulation 2023/138 of 21st December 2022, which specifies a list of specific high-value datasets and their publication and reuse arrangements, OSi is making arrangements to comply with the Regulation.
Regulation 2023/138 was published in the Official Journal of the European Union on the 20th January 2023. It entered into force on the 9th February 2023 and it shall apply from 16 months after entry into force (June 2024).
OSi has been a leader in publishing open data, from Ireland’s COVID Data Hub and recently launched the Regional Development Monitor, both of which are hosted on OSi’s GeoHive platform.
I. Summary of Decision
I have now made a final decision to part-grant your request on 17th February 2023. OSi have addressed the points of your request (numbered 1-2 and 4-9) at Part III below. Query number 3 of your request is addressed in the attached documents named Records 1 and 2. Record 1 (attached to this decision letter) is part-granted. There are 3 redactions within this record by reason of Article 8(a)(i).
Record 2 (attached to this decision letter) is fully granted.
I wish to point out that OSi does not have the initial communication from the Open Data Unit in Department of Public Expenditure & Reform requesting that OSi provide Open Data Report, but we have provided a later version (reminder) of this request, herewith at Record 2. Record 2 helps provide context to Record 1, i.e. Record 2 sets out a list of questions by the Open Data Unit in Department of Public Expenditure and Reform and Record 1 sets out OSi’s answers to said questions
III. OSi responses to AIE Request queries;
1. Any data audits conducted by or for OSi to identify datasets under the Open Data Directive
The Open Data Directive mentions national and local maps, geospatial data, earth observation data, and mobility data. In accordance with the recent Open Data Directive Implementing Regulation, OSi now has direction on which data sets should be released as high-value datasets.
According to Regulation 2023/138, published in the Official Journal of the European Union on 20th January, 2023, OSi now has clear guidelines on which data is considered high value.
As a result of this clarity, data that needs to be released can now be accessed in greater detail. Regulation entered into force on the 9th February 2023 and it shall apply from 16 months after entry into force (June 2024).
Since all OSi geospatial data is actively managed in product management processes and applications, that is how OSi has identified data that can be made publicly accessible so far.
2. Directive 2019/1024/EU introduces the concept of high value datasets (HVDs). Please list any HVDs identified by OSi
The following OSi datasets have been identified as being of high value:
1. Administrative units
2. Geographic names
3. Buildings
4. Hydrography
5. Elevation
6. Land cover
7. Orthoimagery
8. Production and industrial facilities
9. Water
10. Transport networks
3. Under Regulation 4 of SI 376/2021 all Departments/Offices and relevant bodies under their aegis are obliged to supply to the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform with information as requested from time to time, such as open data progress reports. Provide copies of the OSi progress reports as supplied to PER.
Please see Records 1 and 2 enclosed with this decision letter for only OSi Progress Report supplied to Department of Public Expenditure and Reform.
4. All Departments/Offices and relevant bodies under their aegis must assign responsibility to an officer for matters arising under these Regulations in line with the national Open Data Strategy. Please provide contacts for any Open Data officers appointed at OSi from 2021 to date
Since 2016 OSi has maintained its own Open Data Portal located at: https://data-osi.opendata.arcgis.com/.
The portal contains contact details for OSi HQ and Open Data Office email address: opendataofficer@osi.ie
OSi has an Open Data page on its website at: https://osi.ie/about/open-data/
The Open Data Officer is Hugh Mangan. Queries relating to open data are directed to: opendataofficer@osi.ie
This email is set up as a distribution list which gets sent to a number of OSi employees.
5. In line with Regulation 13 of SI 376/2021, the details of any new exclusive arrangements being entered into must be published online at least two months before they come into force. Please provide list of any exclusive arrangements agreed to date by OSi
OSi has no exclusive arrangements in place.
6. Any exemptions sought by OSi to the release of open data, and which datasets these exemptions related to
OSi has not sought any exemptions.
7. Public Bodies must draft an Open Data Publication Plan. Provide a copy of any OSi draft or completed open data plans to date
Article 7(5) of the AIE Regulations states; 7(5) Where a request is made to a public authority and the information requested is not held by or for the authority concerned, that authority shall inform the applicant as soon as possible that the information is not held by or for it.
OSi does not have an Open Data Publication Plan. As OSi required clarity on the details of the implementing Regulation concerning High Value Data, it has not yet published an Open Data Plan.
The EU Commission has now published the Implementing Regulation on High Value Data (20th January 2023).
There are 10 different OSi data types covered by the High Value Implementing Regulation, which will result in the release of a great deal more individual OSi datasets.
A total of 122 datasets are currently available on OSi’s open data portal, which are then federated to https://data.gov.ie/
It must be noted that on 1st March 2023, OSi will merge with the Property Registration Authority and the Valuation Office to create Tailte Éireann, a new state agency. As a new entity, Tailte Éireann will publish its own Open Data Publication Plan, inheriting OSi’s geospatial data.
8. All public bodies need to publish details of what data is available for re-use and the licencing conditions that apply (CC BY 4.0 Attribution advised). Please provide a list of (where this differs from data audit list, see above)
OSi has an Open Data page on its website at: https://osi.ie/about/open-data/
All OSi data is available with a CC BY 4.0 licence.
9. Copy of OSi’s RPSI Policy (RPSI is Reuse of Public Sector Information) Article 7(5) of the AIE Regulations states;
7(5) Where a request is made to a public authority and the information requested is not held by or for the authority concerned, that authority shall inform the applicant as soon as possible that the information is not held by or for it.
OSi has no RPSI Policy (RPSI is Reuse of Public Sector Information).
Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications (DECC) Open Data Strategy
AIE Request
I made a decision on your request on 15/02/2023. Following examination of material held by the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications, I have been unable to locate any records relevant to your request. I therefore refuse your request
With regards to specific questions raised by you:
- Any data audits conducted by or for DECC to identify environmental datasets under the Open Data Directive?
No audits to identify environmental datasets under the Open Data Directive have been
conducted by or within DECC. At present DECC does not “hold” any environmental
datasets of its own and relies instead on environmental datasets produced mainly by other
state bodies and agencies as well as other sources. - Directive 2019/1024/EU introduces the concept of high value datasets (HVDs). Please list any HVDs identified by DECC
As DECC Data Officer I have not been notified of any list of environmental HVDs identified
by DECC. - Under Regulation 4 of SI 376/2021 all Departments/Offices and relevant bodies under their aegis are obliged to supply to the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform with information as requested from time to time, such as open data progress reports. Provide copies of the DECC progress reports as supplied to PER.
This is not environmental information as defined by SI 133/2007; “environmental
information” means any information in written, visual, aural, electronic or any other material
form on— 1 OJ No. L 41, 14.02.2003, p.26. Notice of the making of this Statutory
Instrument was published in “Iris Oifigiuil” of 3rd April, 2007. 4 133 the state of the etc
- All Departments/Offices and relevant bodies under their aegis must assign responsibility to an officer for matters arising under these Regulations in line with the national Open Data Strategy. Please provide contacts for any Open Data officers
appointed at DECC from 2021 to date
This is not environmental information as defined by SI 133/2007;
- In line with Regulation 13 of SI 376/2021, the details of any new exclusive arrangements being entered into must be published online at least two months before they come into force. Please provide list of any exclusive arrangements
agreed to date by DECC
I’m the officially appointed DECC Data Officer and I have not been notified of any exclusive
arrangements agreed to date by DECC
- Any exemptions sought by DECC to the release of open data, and which datasets these exemptions related to.
No exemptions to the release of open data have been sought by DECC or from anybody
within DECC. - Public Bodies must draft an Open Data Publication Plan. Provide a copy of any DECC draft or completed open data plans to date
This request is not related to environmental data. Public Bodies are not required to submit a publication plan of environmental information and none has been submitted by DECC to date. - All public bodies need to publish details of what data is available for re-use and the licencing conditions that apply (CC BY 4.0 Attribution advised). Please provide a list of (where this differs from data audit list, see above).
Public bodies have published 3,542 datasets under the Environmental theme on the open
data portal (https://data.gov.ie/dataset?theme=Environment). This is the only list of
environmental data available for reuse to which DECC Data Officer and other personnel
have access. - Copy of DECC’s RPSI Policy (RPSI is Reuse of Public Sector Information)
To date, DECC has not developed an RPSI Policy and consequently does not have an
RPSI Policy document.
I have also been unable to determine whether any other public authority might possess the
records that you have requested.
Open Data Directive: when could we see open data implementation in Ireland?
20 January 2023, EU Commission published a list of high-value datasets that public sector bodies will have to make available for re-use, free of charge, within 16 months. So that would be May 2024
The focus is on data with important benefits for society, the environment and the economy – which is why they should be made available to the public
The Regulation is set up under the Open Data Directive, which defines six categories of such high-value datasets: geospatial, earth observation and environment, meteorological, statistics, companies and mobility. This thematic range can be extended at a later stage to reflect technological and market developments.
The datasets will be available in machine-readable format, via an Application Programming Interface and, where relevant, as bulk download.
List is here
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=uriserv:OJ.L_.2023.019.01.0043.01.ENG
Public sector bodies shall designate a point of contact for questions and issues related to the API with a view to ensure the availability and maintenance of the API and ultimately the smooth and effective publication of the high-value datasets.
By 2 years after entry into force of this Implementing Regulation Member States shall provide the Commission with a report on the measures they have carried out to implement this Implementing Regulation.
DAFM Open Data Strategy
- Any data audits conducted by or for DAFM to identify environmental datasets under the Open Data Directive:
The department is currently in the process of assessing data sets to publish in line with the Open Data Directive, however, please note that the identification of environmental specific datasets was not part of this process. - Directive 2019/1024/EU introduces the concept of high value datasets (HVDs). Please list any HVDs identified by DAFM.
Under the inspire directive DAFM in collaborations with partners in the Ordnance Survey Ireland (OSI), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Central Statistics Office (CSO), Geological Survey Ireland, Marine Institute, Property Registration Authority, Met Éireann and Teagasc have made available a suite of datasets available that have previously been identified as High Value Datasets under the Open Data thematic areas. DAFM specific datasets include Poultry Holdings, Single Farm Payment System Parcels, Forestry Plantations, LPIS and GSAA. https://inspire.geohive.ie/geoportal/#searchPanel
- Under Regulation 4 of SI 376/2021 all Departments/Offices and relevant bodies under their aegis are obliged to supply to the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform with information as requested from time to time, such as open data progress reports. Provide copies of the DAFM progress reports as supplied to PER.
This is not environmental information as defined by SI 133/2007; “environmental information” means any information in written, visual, aural, electronic or any other material form on— 1 OJ No. L 41, 14.02.2003, p.26. Notice of the making of this Statutory Instrument was published in “Iris Oifigiuil” of 3rd April, 2007. 4 133 the state of the elements of the environment, such as air and atmosphere, water, soil, land, landscape and natural sites including wetlands, coastal and marine areas, biological diversity and its components, including genetically modified organisms and the interaction among these elements, (b) factors, such as substances, energy, noise, radiation or waste, including radioactive waste, emissions, discharges and other releases into the environment, affecting or likely to affect the elements of the environment, (c) measures (including administrative measures), such as policies, legislation, plans, programmes, environmental agreements, and activities affecting or likely to affect the elements and factors referred to in paragraphs (a) and (b) as well as measures or activities designed to protect those elements, (d) reports on the implementation of environmental legislation, (e) cost-benefit and other economic analyses and assumptions used within the framework of the measures and activities referred to in
paragraph (c), and (f) the state of human health and safety, including the contamination of the food chain, where relevant,
conditions of human life, cultural sites and built structures inasmuch as they are, or may be, affected by the state of the elements of the environment referred to in paragraph (a) or, through those elements, by any of the matters referred to in paragraphs (b) and (c); - All Departments/Offices and relevant bodies under their aegis must assign responsibility to an officer for matters arising under these Regulations in line with the national Open Data Strategy.
Please provide contacts for any Open Data officers appointed at DAFM from 2021 to date.
This is not environmental information as defined by SI 133/2007;
- In line with Regulation 13 of SI 376/2021, the details of any new exclusive arrangements being entered into must be published online at least two months before they come into force. Please provide list of any exclusive arrangements agreed to date by DAFM
To date the Open Data unit in DAFM has not been notified of any exclusive arrangements. - Any exemptions sought by DAFM to the release of open data, and which datasets these exemptions related to. To-date, nil returns have been reported for exemptions sought.
- Public Bodies must draft an Open Data Publication Plan. Provide a copy of any DAFM draft or completed open data plans to date. An Open Data Publication Plan for DAFM has been initiated and will be published in due course.
- All public bodies need to publish details of what data is available for re-use and the licencing conditions that apply (CC BY 4.0 Attribution advised). Please provide a list of (where this differs from data audit list, see above) All Data sets published by DAFM are published with the CC by 4.0 attribution licencing conditions.
- Copy of DAFM’s RPSI Policy (RPSI is Reuse of Public Sector Information)
This is not environmental information as defined by SI 133/2007;
EPA Open Data Strategy (Includes EPA Open Data Progress Report 2022)
Please see outlined below your request and the EPA’s response (highlighted in italics).
Response to your queries 1, 2, 3, 7 and 9
- Any exemptions sought by the EPA to the release of open data, and which datasets these exemptions related to
I am to advise that the EPA has not sought any exemptions to date, therefore the records do not exist. - Any data audits conducted by or for the EPA to identify environmental datasets under the Open Data Directive
I am to advise that the EPA has not undertook any data audits to date, therefore the records do not exist. - Directive 2019/1024/EU introduces the concept of high value datasets (HVDs). Please list any HVDs identified by the EPA
I am to advise that the EPA has not identified any HVDs to date, therefore the records do not exist. - Public Bodies must draft an Open Data Publication Plan. Provide a copy of any EPA completed plans to date
I am to advise that the EPA has not completed any Open Data Publication Plans to date, therefore the records does not exist. - Copy of EPA’s RPSI Policy (RPSI is Reuse of Public Sector Information)
I am to advise that the EPA does not currently have an RPRI Policy, therefore the record does not exist.
- Please note that the EPA is currently undertaking a project to scope their Shared Data Management Programme which will set priorities and initiatives for the EPA going forward in Open Data.
The programme will cover areas such as a Data Audit and include the development and publication Open Data Publication Plan.
Response to your queries 4, 5, 6 and 8
- Under Regulation 4 of SI 376/2021 all Departments/Offices and relevant bodies under their aegis are obliged to supply the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform with information as requested from time to time, such as open data progress reports. Provide copies of the progress reports as supplied to PER.
The first Open Data Request Progress report was submitted last year to the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform (DPER). Please see EPA’s Open Data Progress Report attached. - All Departments/Offices and relevant bodies under their aegis must assign responsibility to an officer for matters arising under these Regulations in line with the national Open Data Strategy. Please provide contacts for any Open Data officers appointed at the EPA from 2021 to date
The EPA’s Open Data Officer is Eileen Carroll, email address d.queries@epa.ie. - In line with the Regulation 13 of SI 376/2021, the details of any new exclusive arrangements being entered into must be published online at least two months before they come into force. Please provide list of any exclusive arrangements agreed to date.
Currently, we do not have any exclusive arrangements agreed to date. Therefore the record requested does not exist. - All public bodies need to publish details of what data is available for re-use and the licencing conditions that apply (CC BY 4.0 Attribution advised). Please provide a list of (where this differs from data audit list, see above)
Currently, this data is available on data.gov.ie with the CC By 4.0 licenced applied. Please see at this
link: https://data.gov.ie/dataset?theme=Environment&organization=environmental-protection-agency