Apology from information commissioner for claim a request had ‘nothing to do’ with environment

The Commissioner for Environmental Information has apologised to a couple for statements made in notes provided to an international conference in 2019.

The High Court was told on Wednesday that the commissioner accepts and acknowledges he had “no evidential basis” for stating in the notes provided to the meeting in Geneva that an information request made by Mary and Jim Redmond “had nothing to do with any perceived threat to the forests on the land”.

“The commissioner has no reason to doubt Mr and Mrs Redmond’s account that they submitted their requests for information as committed environmentalists concerned about the future of the Kilcooley Abbey Estate,” an apology read to the court stated.

The court heard the commissioner also submitted to the meeting of the task force on access to information and joint United Nations Economic Commission for Europe that the Redmonds were property developers who attempted to acquire lands at Kilcooley Abbey Estate, Thurles, Co Tipperary and were unhappy their bid for the lands had been unsuccessful.

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“The commissioner apologises unreservedly for the inclusion of the statements in the conference notes and for the distress that their inclusion caused Mr and Mrs Redmond,” the apology continued.

The commissioner also “sincerely regrets” the impact this has had on the couple and any impact this may have on the Access to Information on the Environment (AIE) regime more generally, the court heard.

The presentation notes containing the statements were provided to the conference organisers and later uploaded to the conference website, the commissioner said.

The Redmonds’ legal costs will be paid for by the commissioner, as part of the settlement of their claim against him.

Mr Justice Barry O’Donnell congratulated the parties for achieving a resolution. He struck out the case.

The Redmonds, represented by Ferrys Solicitors, Thomas Hogan SC and John Kerr BL, issued an “intended action” in the High Court seeking to bring a case alleging they were defamed.

In their claim, they said they are not involved in property development in any capacity and their only interest in purchasing Kilcooley House and some surrounding lands was to save them from private development.

Ms Redmond, with an address on Aberdeen Road, Highbury, London, said she grew up near to Kilcooley Abbey Estate and has fond childhood memories of gathering fruit from the walled garden close to Kilcooley House. She said the estate included some 950 acres of forestry with pathways for the local community to walk, ride horses and forage.

Ms Redmond said they learned in 2012 that the estate was up for sale.

She and her husband placed an unsuccessful bid on Kilcooley House and some lands but did not bid for Coillte’s leasehold interest in 400 hectares at the estate, which, she said, was sold in 2013 to a private buyer.

The Redmonds submitted an AIE request to Coillte regarding the 400-hectare sale, including asking who purchased the lands and for what price.

Coillte gave them some information but withheld matters it said were “commercially sensitive”, she said.

Coillte upheld this decision on review, as did the commissioner on appeal. The Court of Appeal set aside the commissioner’s decision in 2020 and remitted the case to Coillte for reconsideration.

This review ultimately ended up with the commissioner, whose dealings with the case Ms Redmond was dissatisfied with. She said she discovered, via an internet search, conference notes from an October 2019 meeting of the task force on access to information and joint United Nations Economic Commission for Europe.

She claimed the published notes contained defamatory and false statements about her and her husband.

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