The new Agriculture Appeals Review Panel is due to consist of seven members, according to the latest draft legislation.
The new independent statutory body will take on the role which is currently assigned to of the Director of Agriculture Appeals in conducting reviews of appeals decisions issued to farmers.
The Agriculture Appeals Office, established in 2002, provides an appeals service for farmers dissatisfied with decisions of the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) in relation to their participation in agricultural schemes.
Since its inception the office has handled 15,466 appeals from farmers, with around 5,605 appellants receiving improved outcomes in their cases.
A review of the Agriculture Appeals Act 2001 and the operations at the Agriculture Appeals Office was completed back in December 2017.
Agriculture Appeals Review Panel
The Programme for Government included a commitment to establish the review panel, as a priority, and ensure that the group “includes participants with practical knowledge and experience of farming”.
In January, Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Charlie McConalogue published the general scheme of the Agriculture Appeals (Amendment) Bill 2024.
The bill was subsequently referred to the Joint Committee on Agriculture, chaired by Fianna Fáil TD Jackie Cahill, for the purposes of pre-legislative scrutiny.
The committee agreed with farm organisations on the importance of farmers being represented on the review panel, “to ensure that farmers have faith in the prospective appeals structure”.
Deputy Cahill stated that the committee believes this bill “represents a significant opportunity to provide greater assurance to farmers and to encourage public confidence in the agriculture appeals process”.
Legislation
The draft bill now states that the new panel will consist of seven members: an independent chairperson; the director or deputy director of the agriculture appeals office; and five additional members with experience relevant to the functions of the panel.
The chairperson and ordinary members shall be appointed by the minister for agriculture, with at least two members having “practical knowledge or experience of farming”.
The chairperson and the ordinary members will hold their positions for a period of three years.
The minister will aim to ensure “an equitable balance” between men and women in the composition of the review panel.
The bill, which recently completed its first stage in the Dáil, will also introduce time limits for seeking a review of a decision of an appeals officer, where there is currently there is no time limit for seeking a such a review.
This will consist of the following:
- 6 months in the case of new evidence/facts or change in circumstance – this review is conducted by an appeals officer;
- 6 months in the cases of a review being sought from the review panel by reason of some mistake having been made in relation to the law or facts.
The draft legislation states that an oral hearing may be heard in person, or remotely by electronic means, subject to the agreement of the parties.