The Court of Appeal has dismissed Denis Riordan’s appeal against the dismissal of his judicial review challenge to a €5,000 fee required to bring an appeal before the Irish Financial Services Appeals Tribunal.
The court held that rules made under the Central Bank Act 1942 applied to Riordan’s appeal under the Anglo Irish Bank Corporation Act 2009. It said the tribunal was entitled to require the fee and that Riordan was obliged to pay it. The court also found the tribunal’s reasons for rejecting his argument that no fee was due were adequate.
Riordan had been a shareholder in Anglo Irish Bank. After the shares were transferred to the Minister for Finance in 2009, an Assessor was appointed to determine compensation. The Assessor concluded that no compensation was payable. Riordan appealed that determination to the tribunal in May 2020 and separately applied for a fee waiver, citing his age and inability to pay. He later withdrew the waiver application, arguing instead that no fee applied to his appeal.
The tribunal struck out his appeal in June 2020 for non-payment. Riordan then sought judicial review, asking the High Court to declare the fee inapplicable and to quash the strike-out. The High Court dismissed his application in August 2022. He appealed that decision, arguing, among other points, that the tribunal’s rules did not govern appeals under the 2009 Act and that the tribunal had not adequately explained why his interpretation was wrong.
The Court of Appeal rejected those arguments. It said the 2009 Act provided for an appeal to the tribunal and applied the relevant hearing and determination provisions in the 1942 Act, including the rules on appeal fees. The court found no sensible distinction between a decision described as appealable and one against which the legislation expressly allowed an appeal.
The court dismissed the appeal. It said the tribunal’s registrar was entitled to strike out Riordan’s appeal because he had not paid the fee and had abandoned his waiver application. The court invited Riordan to file a written submission on the tribunal’s costs of the appeal within 14 days; the tribunal could respond within the following 14 days. The judgment does not determine those appeal costs.