Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)

I am taking this Adjournment matter on behalf of the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Deputy Simon Coveney, who apologises for his inability to attend.

As the House is aware, the Agriculture Appeals Office is an independent agency established to provide an appeals service for farmers who are unhappy with decisions of the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine regarding their entitlements under certain schemes. The Agriculture Appeals Act 2001, with the Agriculture Appeals Regulations 2002, sets down the functions of the director and the appeals officers, the decisions that may be appealed and the procedures that must be followed in respect of agriculture appeals. The Agriculture Appeals Act is specific in outlining the powers conferred on the appeals office and its officers. Specifically, appeals officers are independent in the performance of their functions; they are not confined to the grounds on which the original decision was made, rather they decide as though the matter was being decided for the first time; oral hearings which are held where the appellant so chooses are in private, with the appellant being free to be accompanied by whomever he or she wishes, be it a family member, farm body representative, legal representative or someone else; appeals officers are authorised to administer oaths and take evidence under oath; and decisions of appeals officers are binding on the Department.

The aim of the appeals office is to provide an independent, accessible, fair and timely service for scheme applicants and deliver that service in a courteous and efficient manner. This is the manner in which the appeals office has worked in practice. The Department's officials have ongoing regular contact with the appeals office in matters relating to a wide variety of schemes operated by the Department. This allows the process to run smoothly from the point of view of the Department, the appeals office and the appellants. Since the establishment of the office, the number of cases processed has run into the thousands and, in all the interlinked dealings necessitated by these cases, at no stage was the independence of the office called into question. Both parties take their legal responsibilities in the consideration and processing of appeals with the appropriate regard expected under the regulations.

It is understood the Senator may have raised this matter with reference to a specific ongoing case. I can inform the House that the case in question was initially the subject of an informal internal investigation within the Department, but it is now subject to a formal investigation. Therefore, while this formal investigation is ongoing, it is not appropriate that any appeal on the matter under investigation be considered by the appeals office. This does not in any way interfere with the ability of those concerned to pursue their case with the appeals office on the conclusion of the formal investigation, should they so choose to do so at that stage.