14B.—(1) A person (in this section referred to as an “appellant”) shall, when making an appeal under section 14A(4) (in this section, and sections 14C, 14D, 14E and 14F referred to as an “appeal”) and during the conduct of the appeal, comply with the requirements of this section, any regulations made under sections 7(2), 14E, 14F and 15, any rules made under subsection (2) and section 14C(2), and any direction issued under subsection (3), and where a person does not so comply, the appeal shall be invalid and shall not be considered by the Forestry Appeals Committee.

(2) The Forestry Appeals Committee may make such rules in relation to the conduct of appeals as it considers appropriate and shall publish those rules on a website maintained by or on behalf of the Committee.

(3) The Forestry Appeals Committee may, for the purpose of ensuring the efficient, fair and timely determination of an appeal, issue a direction in respect of the conduct of the appeal.

(4) An appellant shall, when making an appeal, state all of the grounds upon which the appeal is made and provide to the Forestry Appeals Committee all of the documents and evidence upon which he or she intends to rely to support those grounds.

(5) A party to an appeal other than the appellant shall, when responding to an appeal, state all of the grounds upon which he or she responds to the appeal and provide to the Forestry Appeals Committee all of the documents and evidence upon which he or she intends to rely to support those grounds.

(6) Subject to subsection (7), a party to an appeal shall not be entitled, during the course of an appeal, to make submissions to the Forestry Appeals Committee other than submissions related to the grounds stated, or documents and evidence provided under subsection (4) or (5).

(7) The Forestry Appeals Committee may, where it considers it necessary or expedient for the fair and proper determination of an appeal, require or permit a party to an appeal to—

(a) make submissions to the Committee other than submissions related to the grounds stated or documents and evidence provided under subsection (4) or (5), or

(b) provide documents or evidence to the Committee other than documents or evidence provided under subsection (4) or (5).

(8) The Forestry Appeals Committee may refuse to consider submissions, documents or evidence where—

(a) the submissions, documents or evidence are not relevant to the appeal, or

(b) it is considered appropriate so as to avoid undue repetition of submissions.

(9) The Forestry Appeals Committee may require any person to provide any information which it may reasonably require for the purposes of considering the appeal.

(10) (a) The Forestry Appeals Committee may, where it considers it necessary or expedient in determining an appeal, carry out a screening for an environmental impact assessment, an environmental impact assessment, a screening for an appropriate assessment, or an appropriate assessment.

(b) In this subsection—

“screening for an environmental impact assessment” means a determination—

(i) as to whether the proposed activity to which the decision being appealed refers would be likely to have significant effects on the environment, and

(ii) if the proposed activity would be likely to have such effects, that an environmental impact assessment is required;

“environmental impact assessment” has the meaning given to it by the Forestry Act 2014;

“screening for an appropriate assessment” means an assessment under Part 5 of the European Communities (Birds and Natural Habitats) Regulations 2011 (S.I. No. 477 of 2011);

“appropriate assessment” has the meaning given to it by the European Communities (Birds and Natural Habitats) Regulations 2011.

(11) The Forestry Appeals Committee may dismiss an appeal which is vexatious.

(12) In considering an appeal, the Forestry Appeals Committee—

(a) shall have regard to the record of the decision the subject of the appeal, and

(b) may, where it considers it necessary or expedient for the fair and proper determination of the appeal, have regard to such submissions, documents or evidence not contained in the record of the decision as the Committee considers appropriate.

(13) Following consideration of an appeal, the Forestry Appeals Committee may—

(a) affirm the decision,

(b) where it is satisfied that a serious or significant error or a series of errors was made in making the decision the subject of the appeal or that the decision was made without complying with fair procedure—

(i) vary the decision,

(ii) allow the appeal and set aside the decision,

(iii) set aside the decision and remit it, for stated reasons, to the Minister, or

(iv) where the Committee considers it appropriate to do so, by reference to submissions, documents or evidence before it which were not considered by the Minister or for other good reason, substitute its decision for the decision of the Minister.

(14) The Forestry Appeals Committee shall give notice of its determination under subsection (13) to the Minister, the appellant and such other parties as the Committee may determine, as soon as practicable after it is made.]