Duck farmer wins latest round in legal dispute with agriculture department
Picture for illustration purposes only
A duck farmer in Carlow has won the latest round in a long-running legal dispute with the Department of Agriculture after the High Court rejected an attempt by the minister for agriculture to overturn a previous court ruling in his favour.
John Fitzgerald successfully challenged two statutory notices issued to his duck egg production business following a suspected outbreak of the rare Salmonella Hessarek strain in 2024. The notices were overturned by the district court in 2025 after Judge Catherine Hayden found significant shortcomings in the way samples had been collected by department officials.
The minister subsequently appealed that decision to the circuit court but also launched separate judicial review proceedings in the High Court.
However, in a judgment delivered by Mr Justice Garrett Simons on 24 July, the High Court dismissed the judicial review application. The judge ruled that the minister should, instead, pursue the appeal already before the circuit court, which he described as an adequate alternative remedy.
Mr Justice Simons said the minister had not “identified any convincing reason” why the dispute should be dealt with through judicial review rather than through the pending circuit court appeal.
The original dispute arose after department officials served two notices on Mr Fitzgerald’s farm following a suspected salmonella outbreak. During the district court hearing, concerns were raised about how samples were collected, including questions around the use of gloves, protective overboots, face masks and compliance with the department’s own sampling procedures.
Notably, the High Court did not rule on whether the district court was correct in its findings. Instead, Mr Justice Simons said those issues should be determined through the existing appeals process.
The judge noted that the minister did not seek to suspend the district court ruling or fast-track the appeal.
He said that while the High Court case was progressing, the circuit court appeal had “remained becalmed”.
Mr Justice Simons also indicated that Mr Fitzgerald was entitled to recover his legal costs from the minister after successfully defending the judicial review proceedings.
Mr Fitzgerald estimated his legal costs at €154,000, while the department estimated its own costs at €52,000.
The underlying dispute over the notices is now set to continue before the circuit court.
