The Court of Appeal has ordered Killybegs fishing interests to pay half of most of the legal costs arising from their unsuccessful challenge to Sea-Fisheries Protection Authority weighing practices, while making them fully liable for the costs associated with a reference to the Court of Justice of the European Union.
The May 1 costs ruling followed the failure of proceedings brought by Noel McDowell, Killybegs Fishing Enterprises Limited, Killybegs Seafoods Unlimited and the Killybegs Fishermen’s Organisation Limited.
The dispute concerned the SFPA's decision to require certain catches to be weighed at the quayside in Killybegs in October 2020 in the presence of authorised officials. The appellants argued that a control plan allowing factory weighing affected the Authority's power to insist on quayside weighing.
The High Court rejected the challenge in November 2023. After an appeal, the Court of Appeal referred questions to the EU court, which ruled in October 2025 that the SFPA retained power to inspect and weigh catches immediately after landing despite the control plan. The Court of Appeal then rejected the appellants' remaining reasonableness arguments in March 2026.
In deciding costs, the court said the SFPA had been entirely successful and was presumptively entitled to its costs. It awarded the Authority all costs connected with seeking and determining the EU reference, describing the appellants' argument on that issue as not particularly strong and the EU court's answer as fairly predictable.
However, the court treated the practical weighing concerns differently. It noted that Killybegs' quayside infrastructure was underdeveloped at the time, with concerns about separating water from fish, the accuracy of recorded weights, hygiene standards and possible deterioration in fish quality. The appellants had said even small quality reductions could affect sales to demanding buyers, including Japanese purchasers.
The court found those issues significant and reasonably raised. It therefore awarded the SFPA only 50% of the remaining High Court and Court of Appeal costs, to be adjudicated if the parties cannot agree them.