Vol. 542 No. 6
136 Mr. Moloney asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Rural Development when the new appeals office will be established; the duties being assigned to the office; its staffing level; its proposed location; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25420/01]
The legislation governing the establishment of the new independent Agriculture Appeals Office was enacted in July. It is envisaged that the Office will be operational later this year.
This new office will provide a statutory appeals system for farmers who may wish to challenge decisions of the Department of Agriculture, Food and Rural Development regarding the payment of grants under the direct payment schemes to farmers. The office will deal with appeals under a wide range of schemes including the livestock premium schemes, the area-based compensation scheme, arable aid, REPS, early retirement scheme, the on-farm investment schemes, the national beef assurance scheme and certain aspects of the disease eradication schemes. It will also provide an appeals system for dealers in livestock and poultry.
It is planned that the office will be based in Portlaoise and will have a staff of approximately 22 at the outset and this will be reviewed based on actual experience of workload. Recruiting procedures for staffing the office are expected to commence shortly and arrangements for the provision of the necessary accommodation are well advanced.
