Forestry Appeals Committee
Welcome to the Forestry Appeals Committee
The Agriculture Appeals Act, 2001, was amended by the Forestry Act 2014 to include a new Section 14A which provides for an appeals service against decisions on forestry licence applications made by the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM).
The legislation led to the establishment by the Minister, of the Forestry Appeals Committee (FAC) in 2018. The FAC operates under a separate statutory basis to that of the Agriculture Appeals Office functions. However, the Agriculture Appeals Office provides the administrative and secretariat support to the FAC and, in addition to their agriculture appeal functions, Appeals Officers may be appointed as members of the FAC.
FAC Committee
The FAC currently sits in four divisions and the members serving on the committees include Appeals officers of the Agriculture Appeals Office and external members (E)
Chairperson: Seamus Neely (E)
Deputy Chairpersons: John Evans(E), Donal Maguire(E), Myles McDonagh (E) Ordinary Members: Derek Daly(E), Iain Douglas (E)
Committee Secretaries: Ruth Kinehan; Michael Ryan
Categories of decisions which may be appealed
The Forestry Appeals Committee (FAC) provides an appeals service where, if a person is dissatisfied with a decision of the Minister or an officer of the Minister, they may submit an appeal against a decision on a licence, concerning the following:
- afforestation
- felling
- forest road works
- aerial fertilisation
Submission of appeals
Appeals must be submitted by post on a notice of appeal form and the fee of €200 must accompany the notice of appeal otherwise the appeal will not be accepted. The postal address is Forestry Appeals Committee, Agriculture Appeals Office, Kilminchy Court, Portlaoise, Co. Laois, R32 DTW5. The Notice of Appeal Form must be signed by the Appellant. Appeals and payments that are not received within the statutory deadline cannot be accepted.
Statutory Deadline for Receipt of Appeals
Any decisions issued by the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) are subject to the statutory 14-day deadline i.e. The FAC Notice of Appeal Form must be received by this office along with the €200 fee within 14 days of the DAFM decision.
If you do not receive an acknowledgement of your appeal please contact the Forestry Appeals Committee via Tel: (057) 8667167; or e-mail: forestry@agriappeals.gov.ie