Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 17 October 2023
421. Deputy Alan Dillon asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when he intends to publish heads of the Agriculture Appeals (Amendment ) Bill; whether this will allow for a fully independent chairperson of the Authority; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44767/23]
View answerAs the Deputy may be aware, a Review of the Agriculture Appeals Act 2001 and the operations at the Agriculture Appeals Office was completed in December 2017. The report of the Review Committee included a recommendation that, where an appellant is not satisfied with the decision of an appeals officer, he or she can seek a review of that decision from an independent Agriculture Appeals Review Panel.
The recommendation for an independent Agriculture Appeals Review Panel is a key priority for the current Government. Indeed, the Programme for Government; Our Shared Future (2020) includes a commitment to “establish an Independent Agriculture Appeals Review Panel in legislation, as a priority, and ensure that the panel includes participants with practical knowledge and experience of farming”.
Currently, legislation is being prepared within my Department, in consultation with the Office of the Attorney General, to amend the Agricultural Appeals Act 2001 to provide for, inter alia, the establishment of the independent Agriculture Appeals Review Panel whose function will be to undertake independent reviews of decisions of appeals officers when requested to do so by the Minister or an applicant. The Bill will also make miscellaneous changes to the 2001 Act so as to implement other recommendations contained in the 2017 Report. It is intended that the Bill will undergo pre-legislative scrutiny in this quarter of 2023 prior to the text of the Bill going to Cabinet and being published.
It is intended that the Agriculture Appeals Review Panel will be independent in its functions, will comprise a Chairperson, one of the Director or Deputy Director of the Agriculture Appeals Office, and at least three other ordinary members. Each of whom will have experience relevant to the functions of the panel.
