A VETERINARY surgeon yesterday won his Supreme Court appeal following his challenge to the State backed artificial insemination service.
Mr Owen O'Neill, of Ballyart House, Brittas, Co Limerick, had claimed the present service was inefficient and did not use the best technology. He challenged the legality of the Department of Agriculture's policy, which placed geographical and quantitative restrictions on the number of licences granted and said it was contrary to Irish law and to EU competition law.
Mr O'Neill lost his case in the High Court in July 1995, when the judge found that the Department practice of granting one licence for each of nine areas in the State appeared reasonable.
Mr Justice Keane said in his judgment yesterday that, while Mr O'Neill was granted a licence in July 1987 permitting him to establish an A1 station, he was not granted a field service licence or a licence to distribute semen to "DIY" Al licence holders.
The system of control spelled out was negative: the practice of Al may only be carried on where a licence was granted.
He was satisfied that in adopting the exclusivity scheme, the Minister acted outside his powers under the Livestock (Artificial Insemination) Act, 1947.
Even if the Oireachtas envisaged the adoption by the Minister of the exclusivity scheme, it was highly improbable that it intended the scheme to be established by a series of purely administrative decisions, with the regulations remaining entirely silent.
Mr Justice Murphy said he found it inconceivable that the legislature would have contemplated or authorised the creation of such a scheme. The scheme manifestly affected the right of citizens to work in an industry for which they may be qualified and the rights of potential customers to avail of such services.
The Chief Justice, Mr Justice Hamilton, agreed. He said the parties should return on May 28th to finalise the orders and to consider Mr Justice Keane's proposal that the case should be remitted back to the High Court for assessment of damages.