• You are here:
• Home /
• Sample Cases

Sample Cases

Case 2 : Organic farmer taken off approved growers register gets €4,528 REPS money back from Department - records not kept due to illness.

I received a complaint from a woman in County Laois in relation to penalties imposed by the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food for a breach of the terms of the Rural Environment Protection Scheme (REPS).  The major aspect of the penalties imposed related to the revocation of the complainant's organic growers licence by the Irish Organic Farmers and Growers Association (IOGFA). As a result, the complainant could not comply with Supplementary Measure 6 of the REPS Plan and consequently the Department recouped any payments made under that particular measure. To avail of Supplementary Measure 6 of REPS a participant must be registered and approved as an organic operator.

The complainant maintained that because of illness the organic records had not been kept up to date resulting in the withdrawal of the licence. The illness concerned was medically certified but the complainant had neither exercised her right of final appeal to the IOGFA nor her right of appeal against the REPS compliance penalty to the Agriculture Appeals Office before she brought her complaint to my Office.

I took the view that the breach had occurred due to circumstances outside the complainant's control and as such the complainant was deserving of some sympathy. Following my intervention the Department agreed to review the case and, having considered the medical evidence furnished, agreed to refund the recouped payments as well as a 10% compliance penalty unrelated to the participation in Supplementary Measure 6.  In total my complainant got back €4,528.

I was gratified that the Department took a flexible and understanding approach to the complaint.

Back to contents