The Government has scrapped the Electronic Communications Appeals Panel (Ecap), the body which oversaw decisions made by communications regulator ComReg.

A spokeswoman confirmed that Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources Noel Dempsey had signed the necessary statutory instrument on Monday.

Ecap was established in 2004 as a direct result of industry lobbying and was designed to speed up appeals of ComReg decisions, while also avoiding the cost of a full court hearing.

Ecap largely failed to deliver either. Its first appeal took 12 months to deliver and appellant firms engaged full legal teams, driving up costs.

Telecommunications industry executives have questioned the timing of the decision just days before a new minister for communications is likely be appointed.

Tommy McCabe, director of the Telecommunications and Internet Federation, said he was "surprised" by the move.

"It was introduced by the last government to speed up the appeals process so I would wonder about the wisdom of scrapping it now," said Mr McCabe.

He pointed out that appeals through the courts were more expensive and were not heard by people with specialised expertise. "By forcing appeals into the High Court, this will penalise the smaller companies rather than the larger ones who can afford the cost of litigation," Mr McCabe said.

Iarla Flynn, chairman of Alto, the body for alternative operators, welcomed the move and said it was likely to speed up the appeals process.

ComReg declined to comment but the regulator had opposed the formation of the panel, saying it gave companies "two opportunities to challenge decisions", namely Ecap and the courts.