General Scheme of the Agriculture Appeals (Amendment) Bill 2024

The Government approves the General Scheme of the Agriculture Appeals (Amendment) Bill 2024 for formal drafting. The Government also approves the referral of the Bill to the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine for pre-legislative scrutiny.

The drafting of the Agriculture Appeals (Amendment) Bill 2024 along the lines of the General Scheme provides for the legislative framework to :

(a) the establishment of an independent Agriculture Appeals Review Panel; and

(b) introduce other miscellaneous amendments to the Agriculture Appeals Act 2001, including the introduction of timeframes for the seeking of reviews on appeal decisions;

(c) introduce an amendment to the Fisheries (Amendment) Act 1997 to remove the age limit, of seventy years, provided for the Chair and members of the Aquaculture Licensing Appeals Board (ALAB) to vacate their office.;

The General Scheme is available to view at the following link.