The Agriculture Appeals (Amendment) Bill 2024, which will see the establishment of the Agriculture Appeals Review Panel, will move before the Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine in September.
This is according to the committee chair, Deputy Jackie Cahill, who said arrangements have been made by the committee to examine the bill, known as Committee Stage, at its first meeting when the Dáil resumes in September.
Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue welcomed the confirmation from the committee chair during a debate on the general principles of the bill, also known as Second Stage, last week.
Amendments arising during the Committee Stage will then be considered during the Report Stage. After the Final Stage, the bill will move to the Seanad. The minister had previously indicated that the bill would likely be passed before this summer.
The main purpose of this review panel will be to conduct reviews of decisions of appeals officers based on errors of fact or law, Minister McConalogue said. The panel will consist of seven members, including an independent chair.
Appeals review panel
Meanwhile, the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) has said the new Agriculture Appeals Review Panel, which will take on the role of conducting reviews of agriculture appeals decisions, should be “up and running without delay”.
Speaking after the bill was discussed at Second Stage last week, IFA rural development chair John Curran said the panel needs to be established “as soon as possible”.
Commenting that the scope of the panel should extend to all cases, “not just those in relation to the law and/or new facts being presented”, the IFA rural development chair said: “This has been a long time coming.
“We are operating in a whole new world, where complexity and increased scrutiny are the norm, yet farm schemes and payments are even more essential for farm viability.
“It’s key that the appeals panel is adequately resourced and truly fit for purpose to fully preserve the rights of farmers and ensure unnecessary delays are avoided.”
The requirement to include “farmer representatives” in the panel is a “positive development and should help to ensure that cases will be dealt with fairly and impartially”, Curran added.
The appeals panel will consist of 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 provision for a truly independent chair, rather than one appointed by the minister, would certainly also give more confidence to stakeholders, and is something that we will look to progress,” Curran said.
Calling for simplification of the administration process, he said the Agri-Climate Rural Environment Scheme (ACRES) “shows we are going in the wrong direction and it’s more, not fewer appeals that are likely in the short term”.
He added that the “option to appeal cases to legislative bodies other than the cost-prohibitive High Court also merits further consideration”. The issue in respect of the High Court was raised by a number of deputies in the Dáil.
Minister McConalogue said this issue relates to the “desire to make sure the appeals process does not give rise to undue cost or an unfair burden on farmers”, which has been “the full objective in preparing this legislation”.
“However, under our legal system, there is always the opportunity to appeal to the High Court. It is the default court in this State for appeals on a point of law. The Circuit Court has limited jurisdiction in that regard,” he said.