Agriculture Appeals (Amendment) Act 2024
I mbeagán focal
This law, the Agriculture Appeals (Amendment) Act 2024, establishes a new review panel for agricultural appeals and amends existing laws related to agriculture and fisheries appeals. It aims to improve the review process for decisions made by appeals officers and addresses the disclosure of confidential information.
Cad a rialaíonn sé
- The establishment and function of the Agriculture Appeals Review Panel.
- The process for reviewing decisions made by appeals officers in agriculture.
- The conduct of oral hearings, including remote options, for appeals.
- Prohibitions and penalties for the unauthorised disclosure of confidential information by members of review bodies.
Cé dó a mbaineann sé
- Individuals appealing decisions made by agriculture appeals officers.
- Members of the Agriculture Appeals Review Panel and the Forestry Appeals Committee.
Príomhphointí
- An Agriculture Appeals Review Panel is established to review decisions made by appeals officers.
- Oral hearings for appeals can now be held remotely by electronic means, with the agreement of the parties.
- A party can request a revision of an appeals officer's decision within 6 months of the decision date.
- Unauthorised disclosure of confidential information by members of the Review Panel or Forestry Appeals Committee is an offence, punishable by fines up to €500,000 or imprisonment up to 3 years.
Legal text
Agriculture Appeals (Amendment) Act 2024 Skip to content Disclaimer Feedback Helpdesk Gaeilge Léim go dtí an t-ábhar Séanadh Aiseolas Deasc chabhrach English Gaeilge English Produced by the Office of the Attorney General Táirgthe ag Oifig an Ard-Aighne Home Legislation Acts of the Oireachtas Statutory Instruments Pre-1922 Legislation Constitution External Resources Bills (Houses of the Oireachtas) Iris Oifigiúil / Official Gazette Revised Acts (LRC) Classified List of Legislation (LRC) Translations (acts.
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- s)or rangeBliain nó blianta nó raon TypeCineál All Legislation Acts Statutory Instruments Advanced SearchCuardach Casta HomeBaile ActsAchtanna 2024 Agriculture Appeals (Amendment) Act 2024 Agriculture Appeals (Amendment) Act 2024 Permanent Page URL View by SectionAmharc de réir Ailt View Full ActAmharc ar an Acht Iomlán Bill History Stair Bille Commencement, Amendments, SIs made under the Act Tosach Feidhme, Leasuithe, IRí arna ndéanamh faoin Acht Open PDFOscail PDF Print Full ActPriontáil an tAcht Iomlán Number 38 of 2024 AGRICULTURE APPEALS (AMENDMENT) ACT 2024 CONTENTS PART 1 Preliminary and General Section 1. Short title, collective citation and commencement 2. Definition PART 2 Amendment of Act of 2001 3. Amendment of section 1 of Act of 2001 4. Amendment of section 4 of Act of 2001 5. Agriculture Appeals Review Panel 6. Amendment of section 8 of Act of 2001 7. Amendment of section 9 of Act of 2001 8. Amendment of section 10 of Act of 2001 9. Revised decisions by Review Panel 10. Amendment of section 11 of Act of 2001 11. Amendment of section 14 of Act of 2001 12. Prohibition on unauthorised disclosure of confidential information 13. Amendment of section 15 of Act of 2001 14. Amendment of Act of 2001 – insertion of Schedule 3 15. Transitional provisions PART 3 Amendment of Fisheries (Amendment) Act 1997 16. Amendment of section 24 of Fisheries (Amendment) Act 1997 Acts Referred to Agriculture Appeals Act 2001 (No. 29) Agriculture Appeals Acts 2001 to 2020 Companies Act 2014 (No. 38) European Parliament Elections Act 1997 (No. 2) Fisheries (Amendment) Act 1997 (No. 23) Fisheries Acts 1959 to 2022 Local Government Act 2001 (No. 37) Petty Sessions (Ireland) Act 1851 (14 & 15 Vict., c.93) Protected Disclosures Act 2014 (No. 14) Number 38 of 2024 AGRICULTURE APPEALS (AMENDMENT) ACT 2024 An Act to establish the Agriculture Appeals Review Panel to conduct reviews of decisions made by appeals officers under the Agriculture Appeals Act 2001 ; to prohibit unauthorised disclosures of information by members of the Agriculture Appeals Review Panel and the Forestry Appeals Committee; and, for those and other purposes, to amend the Agriculture Appeals Act 2001 ; to amend the Fisheries (Amendment) Act 1997 as regards the holding of office of Chairperson or member of the Aquaculture Licences Appeals Board; and to provide for related matters. [29th October, 2024] Be it enacted by the Oireachtas as follows: PART 1 Preliminary and General Short title, collective citation and commencement 1.
- The Act of 2001 is amended by the substitution of the following section for section 4: “
- One of the appeals officers shall be designated by the Minister to act as the deputy for the Director when the Director is not available and to perform any other function of the Director at the request of the Director.”. Agriculture Appeals Review Panel
- The Act of 2001 is amended by the insertion of the following section after section 4: “4A.
- a)in person, or (
- b)subject to the agreement of the parties, remotely by electronic means.”, and (
- b)by the insertion of the following subsection after subsection
- a)the failure of a party to cooperate when an appeals officer is arranging an oral hearing, or (
- b)the failure of a party or any other person to attend an oral hearing to give evidence or be examined in relation to the appeal.”. Amendment of section 9 of Act of 2001 7. Section 9
- a)it appears to the Review Panel that the decision was erroneous by reason of a mistake of law or fact, and (
- b)the revision is requested by a party to the appeal during the period of 6 months beginning with the date on which the decision was given.
- b)a revised decision of an appeals officer under section 10; (
- c)a revised decision of the Review Panel under section 10A, including a decision of the Review Panel not to revise a decision.
- a)chairperson, deputy chairperson or ordinary member of the Review Panel, or (
- b)chairperson, deputy chairperson or other member of the Forestry Appeals Committee.
- b)a communication reasonably made in connection with the performance of a function under this Act; (
- c)a disclosure made by a person to any member of An Garda Síochána of information that, in the person’s opinion, may relate to the commission of an offence (under this Act or otherwise); (
- d)a disclosure made in compliance with a requirement of this Act or otherwise required by law; (
- e)a disclosure made by a person in the circumstances referred to in section 35
- a)on summary conviction, to a class A fine or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months, or to both, or (
- b)on conviction on indictment, to a fine not exceeding €500,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years, or to both.
- a)any information that would appear to a reasonable person to be of a confidential nature, and (
- b)in the case of information obtained in connection with acting as a person referred to in subsection
- a)the procedure and practice in relation to oral hearings under section 8, and any other hearing under this Act (including, in particular, provisions enabling the management of hearings whether as to number and conduct of witnesses or representatives or otherwise); (
- b)the form and manner of provision of a statement of grounds for a request for a review to be conducted by the Review Panel; (
- c)the form and manner of provision of documents and evidence to the Review Panel; (
- d)the form and manner of making of requests by the Review Panel for information from a party or the appeals officer who made the decision which is the subject of a review by the Review Panel; (
- e)procedures for reviews to be consolidated and heard together; (
- f)procedures for the separation of reviews; (
- g)procedures for the withdrawal of reviews; (
- h)any other consequential or supplementary matters.
- The Act of 2001 is amended by the insertion of the following Schedule after Schedule 2: “SCHEDULE 3 AGRICULTURE APPEALS REVIEW PANEL Part 1 GOVERNANCE Composition
- The Review Panel shall consist of the following members— (a) a chairperson, (b) at least 5 ordinary members, and (c) the Director, or the Deputy Director if designated by the Director. Appointment 2.
- a)shall appoint only persons who, in the Minister’s opinion, have experience relevant to the functions of the Review Panel, and (
- b)shall include, among the persons appointed under clause (a), at least 2 persons with practical knowledge or experience of farming.
- a)an officer of the Minister; (
- b)a member of either House of the Oireachtas; (
- c)a person entitled under the rules of procedure of the European Parliament to sit in that Parliament; (
- d)a member of a local authority (within the meaning of the Local Government Act 2001 ). Deputy chairpersons 3. The Minister may designate one or more ordinary members to perform the functions of a deputy chairperson of the Review Panel. Tenure 4. The chairperson shall hold office for the period of 3 years beginning with the date of appointment. 5. An ordinary member shall hold office for the period of 3 years beginning with the date of appointment. 6.
- a)the chairperson or member has become incapable, through ill health or otherwise, of effectively performing the functions of office, (
- b)the chairperson or member has committed stated misbehaviour, (
- c)it is necessary to remove the chairperson or member to enable the Review Panel to perform its functions effectively, (
- d)the chairperson or member has a conflict of interest of such significance that he or she should cease to hold office, or (
- e)the chairperson or member is otherwise unfit to hold the office or unable to discharge his or her functions.
- b)makes a composition or arrangement with creditors, (
- c)is sentenced by a court of competent jurisdiction to a term of imprisonment, (
- d)is convicted of any indictable offence in relation to a company, or any other body corporate, or is convicted outside the State of an offence consisting of acts or omissions which would constitute an offence triable on indictment if done or made in the State, (
- e)is convicted of an offence involving fraud or dishonesty, whether in connection with a company or not, (
- f)has a declaration under section 819 of the Companies Act 2014 made against him or her or is deemed to be subject to such a declaration by virtue of Chapter 5 of Part 14 of that Act, or (
- g)is subject or is deemed to be subject to a disqualification order, within the meaning of Chapter 4 of Part 14 of the Companies Act 2014 , whether by virtue of that Chapter or any other provision of that Act, or a disqualification outside the State which corresponds to such a disqualification order.
- a)of the reasons for the proposed removal, (
- b)that the person concerned may make representations to the Minister, in such form and manner as may be specified by the Minister, as to why he or she should not be removed from office and such representations shall be made before the expiration of— (
- i)a period of 30 working days from the date of the notification, or (
- ii)such other longer period as the Minister may, having regard to the requirements of natural justice, specify in the notice, and (
- c)that where no representations are received within the period referred to in clause (b)(
- i)or (ii), as the case may be, the Minister may, without further notice to the person concerned, remove the person from office as chairperson or ordinary member.
- a)any representations made by the person concerned under clause (
- b)of subparagraph
- i)or (ii), as the case may be, of that clause, and (
- b)any other matter the Minister considers relevant for the purpose of his or her decision.
- a)the decision and the reasons for that decision, and (
- b)the date on which the decision takes effect. 9. Where the chairperson or an ordinary member is— (
- a)nominated as a member of Seanad Éireann, (
- b)elected as a member of either House of the Oireachtas or to be a member of the European Parliament, (
- c)regarded pursuant to Part XIII of the Second Schedule to the European Parliament Elections Act 1997 as having been elected to be a member of the European Parliament, or (
- d)elected or co-opted as a member of a local authority (within the meaning of the Local Government Act 2001 ), he or she shall thereupon cease to be the chairperson or ordinary member, as the case may be. Casual vacancies 10.
- The chairperson and an ordinary member shall hold office upon such terms and conditions as may be determined by the Minister, with the consent of the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform (subject to the provisions of this Act). Remuneration and Allowances
- The Minister may, with the consent of the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform, pay to the chairperson and ordinary members such remuneration as the Minister may determine.
- The Minister may, with the consent of the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform, pay to the chairperson and ordinary members such allowances in respect of expenses (if any) incurred by them as the Minister may determine. Part 2 PROCEEDINGS Meetings 14.
- a)the chairperson or a deputy chairperson, (
- b)at least one other ordinary member, and (
- c)the Director or Deputy Director.
- a)the parties to the appeal, (
- b)the Director, and (
- c)the appeals officer who made the decision which was the subject of a review by the Review Panel. Divisions 17.
- a)the chairperson or a deputy chairperson, (
- b)at least one other ordinary member, and (
- c)the Director or Deputy Director.
- a)a party, and (
- b)the appeals officer who made the decision which is the subject of the review, to provide it with any information it thinks necessary. Independence 20. The Review Panel shall be independent in the performance of its functions. Conflicts of interest 21.
- a)potentially create a conflict of interest, the chairperson or ordinary member shall recuse himself or herself from the functions or review in question and shall notify the Minister of the recusal, or (
- b)give rise to the perception of any potential conflict of interest, the chairperson or ordinary member shall disclose that fact to the Minister in respect of the review with which the chairperson or ordinary member is dealing, and shall, having regard to any submissions received from the Minister, consider whether it is necessary to recuse himself or herself from the review in question.”. Transitional provisions 15.
- PART 3 Amendment of Fisheries (Amendment) Act 1997 Amendment of section 24 of Fisheries (Amendment) Act 1997
- Section 24 of the Fisheries (Amendment) Act 1997 is amended— (a) in subsection
- a)the Chairperson shall hold office for such period, not exceeding five years, as shall be specified by the Government when appointing the Chairperson, and may be re-appointed for a second or subsequent term of office, and”, and (
- b)by the deletion of subsection