gov - Agriculture Appeals Office - Launch of the online application facility

The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue, has welcomed the news that the independent Agriculture Appeals Office has launched an online appeal facility:

“Given the increase in the number of schemes available to farmers and the increased awareness of technologies and use of online systems in farming, I am delighted to learn that the Agriculture Appeals Office have provided this facility to further assist farmers in submitting appeals."

In accordance with the Agriculture Appeals Regulations, an appeal against a decision made by the Minister or an Officer of the Minister must be made to the Agriculture Appeals Office within 3 months of the date of the Ministers decision. Previously all appeal applications were submitted in hardcopy either by registered post or by hand. An online facility is now available where appellants, unhappy with a decision made by the Minister or an Officer of the Minister, may submit an appeal.

The Minister noted that:

“in line with the Agriculture Appeals Act 2001, the Agriculture Appeals Office is obliged to ensure that its functions are performed as efficiently and expeditiously as may be consistent with fairness and natural justice” and added that “the online facility will support this endeavour and assist farmers in making a valid and timely appeal."

Notes

The move to a paperless system will provide a more user-friendly experience, that is customer tailored to guide clients through the process, making it faster and more convenient. It aims to prevent the typical errors that occur on the paper applications each year which will help eliminate processing delays caused by incomplete appeals. Advantages of the online system include:

built in warnings which will help to avoid certain errors in lodging an appeal such as highlighting the mandatory information required and providing information pop outs to guide the user through the process
information boxes along the process to explain the various terms
once assessed an acknowledgement, reference number and summary of your completed application is emailed to you for your records
a facility to authorise representatives of an appellant’s choice to receive a copy of the appeal related correspondence
the option to choose various appeal hearing options, for example, a remote oral hearing, an in-person hearing or to have your appeal determined without an oral hearing
online FAQ to assist appellants when completing their appeal
by submitting an appeal online, the appellant may receive and reply to query letters by email
the Agriculture Appeals Office was established by the Minister for Agriculture in 2002 to provide an independent appeals service to farmers who are dissatisfied with decisions of the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine concerning designated Schemes operated by the department. The Agriculture Appeals Act 2001, along with the Agriculture Appeals Regulations 2002, as amended, set down the functions of the Director and the Appeals Officers, the decisions that may be appealed and the procedures to be followed in respect of appeals. Appeals Officers are obliged by statute to be independent in the performance of their functions in determining appeals. The Office also provides the administrative support for the statutory Forestry Appeals Committee (FAC) and for the Aquaculture Licences Appeals Board (ALAB) at its headquarters in Kilminchy Court, Portlaoise

The online application facility is available on the on the website at: https://agriforms.gov.ie/alf-ui/#/public/notice/of/appeal/form

Agriculture Appeals Office - Launch of the online application facility

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