Independent Appeals Process For Sea-Fishing Boat Licensing

[Part 3 of Fisheries (Amendment) Act 2003 (No 21)]

Operative from 1 August 2003

Licensing decisions made on or after 01 August 2003 to grant or refuse to grant, or to revoke or amend a sea-fishing boat licence will be appealable by any interested party (whether a licensee, licence applicant or third party): However, as a necessary precaution against undue delays and to ensure input from interested third parties before a decision is made, a person who is not the applicant for or holder of the licence in question may only appeal a licensing decision if that person made representations in writing to the licensing authority (Registrar General or Deputy Registrar General of Fishing Boats) Licensing Authority for Sea Fishing Boats, Dept. of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, National Seafood Centre, Clonakilty, Co. Cork, within one month of the date which the application for the licence concerned was published by the Licensing Authority. All such representations will, as a matter of course, be forwarded to the applicant for or holder of the licence in question, for comment. The publication of licence application and decision details on the Department's website on an ongoing basis is intended to facilitate interested parties

An appeal to an Appeals Officer must be via a fully completed Notice of Appeal Form (see below) fully documented and be accompanied by the appropriate fee, non-refundable, as prescribed in the Sea-fishing Boat Licensing Appeals (Fees) Regulations 2004 (S.I. No. 501 of 2004) viz:

Appeal by licence applicant or holder:

• In the case of a sea-fishing boat of under 12 metres in length overall: €150

otherwise: €380

• Appeal by another individual or organization: €150
• Request for an oral hearing (fee payable in addition to appeal fee): €76

Appeals Officer

An appeal can be made to the following person who has been formally appointed as an Appeals Officer by the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine under section 6 of the Fisheries (Amendment) Act 2003 (No. 21).

The name and contact details of the Appeals Officer follows:

• Appeals Decisions

In the interests of transparency, notice of all appeals duly made to the Appeals Officer and all determinations on such appeals, including a full explanation of those determinations, will be publicly available electronically from the Appeals Officers pages on this website, as well as being required to be sent directly to all of the relevant parties to the appeal in question [section 9 (1) and 16 (6) of the Act].

A person who is dissatisfied with a determination of the Appeals Officer may, within 3 months after the date of the determination, apply to the High Court for Judicial Review of the determination, under section 19 of the Act. Registrar General of Fishing Boats, Licensing Authority for Sea Fishing Boats.