The Agriculture Appeals (Amendment) Bill 2024 has been passed by both houses of the Oireachtas, after being considered by the Seanad for two weeks.
The bill will provide for the establishment of a new statutory body, to be known as the ‘Agriculture Appeals Review Panel’.
This panel will take on the role of conducting reviews of agriculture appeals decisions, which is a role currently assigned to the director of agriculture appeals.
The passage of the bill through the Oireachtas has been welcomed by Minster for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Charlie McConalogue.
“I am delighted to welcome the passage of this bill which provides for the establishment of an independent Agriculture Appeals Review Panel in legislation,” the minister said.
“The establishment of this review panel is a priority commitment for this government, and I believe it will be very much welcomed by the farming community,” he added.
“While I believe we already have an effective and efficient appeals service which is provided by the Agriculture Appeals Office, the establishment of an independent review panel will serve to further enhance the efficiency and independence of the existing appeals service and provide reassurance to farmers bringing an appeal.”
Minister McConalogue acknowledged the contributions from agriculture sector stakeholders in the development of the bill.
“My officials and I have engaged in extensive consultation with representatives from the farming industry over the past few years.
“I would like to express my gratitude to the farming representatives bodies who engaged with me and my officials throughout the process and provided valuable advice on many issues,” he said.
“I would also like to thank the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine for its engagement and its report which contained several recommendations, many of which were incorporated into the bill,” the minister added.
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 bill also introduces a time limit of six months for seeking a review of a decision of an appeals officer, where currently there is no time limit.