Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)

I have raised the issue of fees before and we have examined the matter in other jurisdictions. There is a range of fees in other jurisdictions, particularly for appeals. If it concerns a personal matter there is no fee here, otherwise a fee of €15 applies, which is a modest sum. It is estimated that the average administrative cost of processing an application is €425, so the fee is small by comparison. I do not think it has anything to do with the early flow of requests in the first case. With regard to an appeal, while a preliminary judgment is given, a person can withdraw right up to that stage and get the fee back. It is only if it goes all the way to a final appeal, which is not usually much different from the preliminary one, that the fee is payable. Therefore, I do not think the fee is excessive.

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