Tom Hayes (Tipperary South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to deal with the issue. I thank Senator Higgins for giving me the opportunity to highlight the work carried out by the Agriculture Appeals Office.

The Agriculture Appeals Office is an independent agency established in 2002. The office provides an independent appeals service to farmers who are dissatisfied with decisions of the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine concerning designated schemes. The office has a statutory basis as set out in the Agriculture Appeals Act 2001 which, along with the Agriculture Appeals Regulations 2002, clearly set down the functions of the director and the appeals officers. The Act also sets out the decisions that can be appealed and the procedures to be followed.

The procedures followed by the Agriculture Appeals Office provide for each appeal to be dealt with on an individual, case-by-case basis. One of the main features of the office is the right of an appellant to an oral hearing. This is where an appeals officer brings together the appellant and officials from my Department in an informal setting to hear both sides of a case and ask questions. Following consideration of all the facts of a case, comprehensive decision letters are issued to both the appellant and my Department.

Each decision is made on its own merits and is specific to the particular individual appeal. A wide variety of often unique, individual situations and circumstances are covered.

Decision letters aim to clearly set out the reason for the decision made in each individual case in an open, transparent and understandable way. The decision of an appeals officer is binding on my Department, although such decision may be revised if new evidence is received. The director may revise an appeals officer's decision but only if it is found that an error was made in law or in fact. It also remains open to appellants who remain dissatisfied to bring the matter to the Office of the Ombudsman or to the High Court on a point of law.

The Agriculture Appeals Act 2001 also provides for the publication of an annual report by the appeals office. The 2012 annual report, published within the timeframe set down in legislation, is available on the agriculture appeals office website. This report sets out the main developments during the year and provides a statistical breakdown of the office's annual work. The agriculture appeals office received 1,036 appeals in 2012, a 40% increase on 2011. Some 886 appeals were received in 2013. Oral hearings were held in every county in Ireland during the course of 2013. Conscious of the need for efficiency, where possible, the agriculture appeals office aims to hold oral hearings in a convenient location for the appellant. The majority of appeals dealt with in 2012 and 2013 related to the single farm payment, rural environment protection, suckler cow welfare scheme and agri-environment options schemes.

The agriculture appeals office annual reports also contains details of a variety of cases across a number of schemes dealt with during the course of the year. The identity of the appellant and identifying features of the appeal are excluded. In the 2012 annual report, this includes cases related to the single farm payment, rural environment protection and agri-environment options schemes and non-valuation aspects of the TB and brucellosis eradication schemes. Examples of decisions made to allow, disallow or partially allow appeals are included. These cases were carefully selected to provide useful examples for both farmers and officials. The report contains key findings for my Department. Information on common errors by scheme applicants that lead to penalties is also included.

The 2013 annual report is currently being prepared. This report will also contain examples of a variety of cases across schemes. These cases will relate to decisions made during 2013. The 2013 annual report will be presented to my colleague, the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Deputy Coveney, and made available on the agriculture appeals office website within the prescribed timeframe.