Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Acting Chairperson and I thank the Seanad for its consideration of the Bill as part of the pre-legislative scrutiny in committee. I thank the Senators facilitating Second Stage of the Bill being taken here today.

As Members will be aware, the current programme for Government includes a commitment to establish as a priority an independent agriculture appeals review panel in legislation and to ensure that the panel includes participants with practical knowledge and experience of farming. I am very pleased to be delivering on that commitment in presenting the Agriculture Appeals (Amendment) Bill 2024. The Bill seeks to amend the Agriculture Appeals Act 2001 with its primary purpose being the establishment in law of an independent agriculture appeals review panel. The agriculture appeals office was established in 2002 and since its inception the office has handled more than 15,500 appeals and more than 5,000 appellants have received improved outcomes in their cases. During that period there were also 500 reviews of decisions of appeals officers conducted by the director of agriculture appeals. Under the current operation of the 2001 Act farmers who are dissatisfied with the decisions of the Department regarding their participation in a scheme may submit an appeal to the director of agriculture appeals through the agriculture appeals office within three months from the date of the Department's decision. Under section 10 of the existing Agriculture Appeals Act 2001 the decisions of appeals officers may be revised in certain circumstances, specifically first by an appeals officer based on new evidence or facts brought to his or her attention or a relevant change in circumstances since the decision was made and, second, by the director based on an error by an appeals officer in law or in fact.

Currently under the 2001 Act there is no limitation period for seeking these reviews. This means that a review may be sought by either party to the appeal at any time after a decision has been made. Following a review in 2017 of the Agriculture Appeals Act 2001 several recommendations were made, the most significant being a recommendation to establish an independent agriculture review panel to provide greater assurance to stakeholders and to underpin public confidence in the appeals process. The report also recommended that time limits be introduced for seeking a review of a decision of an appeals officer. It is important to note that this review confirmed the independence of the agriculture appeals office as well.

The implementation of these key recommendations requires a series of amendments to the Agriculture Appeals Act 2001 and these are now provided for in this Bill. Many of the other recommendations contained in the 2018 report that did not require legislative amendments have been implemented to date such as the appointment of a deputy director; the engagement with farming bodies involved in the farmers' charter of rights monitoring committee; formal induction training for newly appointed appeals officers; the holding of case conferences; and the holding of remote oral hearings for appellants.

With regard to the independent agriculture review panel, the 2018 report recommended that it should comprise a chairperson and include among its members private individuals with technical and practical expertise of farming, along with the director of agriculture appeals. Following prelegislative scrutiny of the Bill the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine recommended the number of board members on the review panel be increased from three to five where the committee expressed the view that three ordinary members may not always be available to permit the proper functioning of the review panel. I welcome this recommendation as it will serve to enhance the efficiency of the review panel. Accordingly, the Bill has been amended to reflect this increased membership to seven, consisting of the chair, the deputy director of the agriculture appeals office and five ordinary members. Furthermore, to enhance efficiency this Bill provides that the review panel may sit in divisions consisting of the chair and the director or deputy director of the appeals office, and one ordinary member. The same quorum applies to other meetings of the review panel when it is not sitting in divisions. The main purpose of this review panel will be to conduct reviews of the decisions appeals officers based on errors of fact and or law, a function that is currently carried by the director of agriculture appeals. The Bill provides for the transfer of this essential function to the review panel.

The Bill introduces the time limit of six months to seek a review of a decision of an appeals officer in the event of new evidence or facts or a change in circumstances. These are the reviews conducted by an appeals officer not the agriculture appeals review panel. The Bill also introduces a limit of six months for the seeking of a review of a decision of an appeals officer to the agriculture appeals review panel. It is worth noting that the Bill makes provision for the transfer of certain existing appeal decisions to the new review panel, which will be permitted for a period of one year after its establishment. Another recommendation contained in the 2018 report concerns the introduction of a fee for progression of an appeal to the independent agriculture appeals review panel once established. I decided not to implement these recommendations as I believe it would be an unfair burden on farmers. The Bill introduces incidental legal obligations prohibiting the unauthorised disclosure of confidential information by members of the agriculture appeals review panel and the forestry appeals committee.

As an entirely separate measure the Bill also includes two amendments to the Fisheries (Amendment) Act 1997. The first amendment removes the existing requirement that the chair or members of the agriculture licensing appeals board vacate their membership on reaching 70 years of age. The second amendment of the Fisheries (Amendment) Act 1997 seeks to amend the tenure of the chairperson of the agriculture licensing appeal board from the current default period of five years to a period not exceeding five years. This is to align with the code of practice for the governance of State bodies.

In summary, the main changes to be brought about by the Agriculture Appeals (Amendment) Bill 2024 will be as follows: the establishment of a new independent statutory body to be known as the agriculture appeals review panel; the introduction of time limits for seeking a review of a decision of an appeals officer; and amendments to the Fisheries (Amendment) Act 1997 to remove the age limit of 70 years provided for the chair and members of the agriculture licensing appeals board to vacate their office, and to amend the tenure of the chairperson of the agriculture licensing appeal board from the current default period of five years to a period not exceeding five years.

I will take the opportunity to thank stakeholders who have engaged over the past few years with my Department on the issues at the core of this Bill. I also thank members of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine for their valuable work on the pre-legislative scrutiny of the Bill and on their report. A number of the recommendations have been incorporated into the Bill and will start to strengthen and enhance the Bill. I look forward, hopefully, to their support for this legislation to taking it through the other Stages in the Seanad. I thank the officials from the agriculture appeals office, the director Lynda O'Regan and her team including Ruth Kinehan and David O'Loughlin, who worked very hard on this legislation, and also to the legal services division of my Department, and John Kinsella and his team for their work in bringing this legislation together.