Appeals Panel Should be Up and Running Without Delay

Speaking after the passing of the Agriculture Appeals (Amendment) Bill 2024 through its second stage in the Dáil, IFA Rural Development chair John Curran said the panel needs to be established as soon as possible and its scope extended to all cases, not just those in relation to the law and/or new facts being presented

“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,” he said.

“The requirement to have farmer representatives, as proposed by IFA, is certainly a positive development, and should help to ensure that cases will be dealt with fairly and impartially,” he said.

“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. The option to appeal cases to legislative bodies other than the cost- prohibitive High Court also merits further consideration,” he added.

“More broadly, we need to simplify the administration process, so the volume of cases that actually ends up getting this far is significantly reduced,” he said.

“ACRES, with its huge level of complexity; payment delays and complete lack of transparency (parcel scoring only coming out/made known to farmers after the fact, when payments are made); shows we are going in the wrong direction and it’s more, not fewer appeals that are likely in the short-term. That’s why we need independent eyes to be looking over cases to deliver fairness,” he concluded.