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The Suckler Carbon Efficiency Programme (SCEP) received 104 appeals from farmers in 2024.
The Agriculture Appeals Office’s annual report found that there were 483 total appeals received by the office in 2024, this is down from the 624 appeals made in 2023.
SCEP accounted for highest proportion of all appeals, at 21.5%. This was followed by the Basic Income Support for Sustainability (BISS) with 13.9% (67 appeals).
In total, 23% of appeals were allowed, 6% were partially allowed, and 14% of appeals were revised by the Department of Agriculture. Meanwhile 44% of appeals were disallowed.
The number of appeals concluded in 2024 was 636, which remains on par with the number of appeals closed in 2023.
“The average time taken to close an appeal in 2024 was 73 days, an improvement on the previous year,” the report said.
Appeals
The number of appeals made to the office is down 23% compared to the 10-year average of 630.
The report said this decrease has been due to improvements made to online and IT facilities at the office.
This includes the facility to submit appeals by way of an online system which had 137 appeals submitted in this manner. In addition, the facility for holding online hearings was used 26 time last year.
“While many factors may account for this decrease, acknowledgement must be given to the BISS scheme application system which allows for early identification of errors in online applications and provides for a grace period for the correction of such errors.”
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