The Court of Appeal has ordered Peadar Ó’Baoill, John Gerard Boyle and John Boyle to pay Inland Fisheries Ireland’s costs of their unsuccessful appeal, including the costs of submissions on costs. The three appellants are jointly and severally liable, with the amount to be determined in the ordinary way if they cannot agree it with the respondent.
The judgment, delivered by Ms Justice Máire Whelan on 15 March 2023, dealt only with the allocation of costs for the appeal. Murray and Faherty JJ. concurred. The court left standing the High Court costs orders and found no basis to depart from the usual rule that costs follow the event.
The appeal concerned orders restricting fishing on part of the Gweebarra River in north Donegal without permits issued by, or with the authority of, Inland Fisheries Ireland. The Court of Appeal had dismissed the appellants’ grounds of appeal in a judgment delivered on 18 November 2022. The present judgment addressed who should bear the appeal costs; it did not reconsider that appeal’s outcome.
The appellants asked the court to depart from the usual costs rule, arguing that the case had unusual and public-interest aspects, that it was a test case, and that their conduct and settlement efforts should be considered. They said they had believed public fishing rights existed and challenged the respondent’s title and the history of the fishery. Inland Fisheries Ireland argued that these submissions did not provide a coherent reason to alter the costs of the appeal.
Justice Whelan rejected the appellants’ arguments. She said their claims to fish without permits had shifted over the course of the litigation and had not established a legal entitlement. She also found that the respondent’s conduct was proportionate, reasonable and fair, and that the appellants had no valid basis for continuing the appeal. The judgment said the way the litigation was pursued had added to costs, prolonged delay and impeded its conclusion.
The order makes the appellants responsible for the respondent’s appeal costs jointly and severally. The judgment does not state a fixed amount; costs are to be ascertained in the ordinary way if no agreement is reached.