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Forestry Sector

Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 25 March 2021

Thursday, 25 March 2021

Questions (255)

John Paul Phelan

Question:

255. Deputy John Paul Phelan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of days on which divisions 1, 2, 3 and 4 of the forestry appeals committee are sitting weekly in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16132/21]

View answer

Written answers

I wish to inform the Deputy that the Forestry Appeals Committee (FAC) is operationally independent of the Department.

Up to 6th October 2020, the legislation governing the FAC provided for only one committee to hear appeals. The introduction of the Forestry (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2020 made provision for the establishment of additional sub-divisions of the FAC to deal with appeals in a more efficient manner. Three additional divisions were established after the introduction of the 2020 Act and they commenced hearing cases on 9th November 2020.

All four committees are currently hearing appeals remotely due to COVID-19 restrictions. Hearings are conducted five days a week and the FAC hear both oral and non-oral hearing appeals.  As outlined in the table below, presently, one Committee sits two days per week and the remaining three Committees sit one day each per week.

Committee No

Number of Days Sitting Per Week

Committee 1

2

Committee 2

1

Committee 3

1

Committee 4

1

Total

5

To allow for multiple divisions to sit under current arrangements, some members sit on more than one Committee per week. This approach is an important part of the process as it ensures that all Committees are operating to the same high standard and will result in a more consistent outcome across the various sub-divisions of the FAC, which will benefit all parties involved.   

The FAC have considered a number of ways in which the number of appeals being heard could be increased. This may include the running of two or more Committees concurrently and/or increasing the number of cases that can be heard by a Committee in a day. However, the option of running two Committees on the same day is curtailed by the fact that the parties to a significant number of the appeals being considered are the same. If the FAC scheduled oral hearing appeals to run concurrently on multiple days per week, this could negatively impact the parties involved in that they may not be able to attend all oral hearings. 

The establishment of three additional sub-divisions of the FAC has resulted in a 150% increase in appeals being heard. Given the increase in output, the FAC must be cognisant of maintaining a high standard of process and procedure. While there are no immediate plans to create further sub-divisions of the FAC, the matter is being kept under review and the FAC, in consultation with the Agriculture Appeals Office, continues to review ways in which greater efficiency can be achieved across the four divisions of the FAC, while not impacting the quality of the work.

Question No. 256 answered with Question No. 254.
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