Jackie Cahill (Tipperary, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The Minister of State has given me a very comprehensive answer. One word on which I want to hone in is "independence". Farmers' confidence in this system is paramount as well as the independence of the appeals process. The fact that the appeals office is staffed entirely by former Department of Agriculture staff is undermining farmers' confidence in the system. If we are to restore farmers' confidence in the appeals process, we need proper independence. That means staff other than former Department of Agriculture staff would be employed in the appeals office. A figure was given of roughly 40% success rate for appeals. That is well and good and I am not arguing with it but that means that 60% has failed. It is a question of farmers' confidence in the system. If farmers see that it is former Department of Agriculture staff who are manning these appeals offices, it undermines their confidence in the system. If this review is to restore farmer confidence, the staff employed in the appeals office must be the first item on the agenda.

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