Farmers face trek to Naas

members of the Clare farming community could well have to travel to Naas in County Kildare to talk directly with staff in a Department of Agriculture District Veterinary Office (DVO), it emerged this week.
Amid considerable controversy, Clare’s DVO in Ennis was closed in April 2010 and services have since been provided from Limerick. A senior IFA figure has now warned that any reduction in services at the Limerick DVO would be “a step too far”.
Clare IFA chairman Andrew Dundas made the comments after administration staff, working in Limerick DVO, said they were told at a meeting on Monday that they are to be redeployed to Revenue within four to six weeks.
The Department of Agriculture has, however, contradicted claims by staff saying that while the Limerick office is being reviewed, “no final decision has yet been made”.
June Danaher, secretary of the Limerick general branch of the Civil Public and Services Union, who works in the Department of Agriculture, said, “If our personnel officer can come in and tell us that we are being redeployed in four to six weeks, I don’t see how the department can go back and say that no decision has been made. Maybe the decision they are talking about is the date,” she added.
“They basically said that Revenue came in looking for administrative staff to deal with property tax and needed the staff in Limerick. They said ‘we didn’t foresee you being in the front line for office closure this soon but the fact that Revenue have come, we are releasing you and all the work from Limerick and Clare will go to Naas’.”
The ’Champion put a number of questions to the Department of Agriculture concerning existing services at the office and its future. A spokesperson said, “The department is currently reviewing the administrative support for its 16 District Veterinary Offices and, in particular, the centralisation of this support in one or more centralised office(s).
“Centralising administrative procedures enables the department to reduce the number of administrative staff it requires to support its DVO operations and to make experienced administrative staff available to support other critical public services.
“The administrative functions for Cork have been recently centralised in Cork City. The administrative functions in the Limerick DVO are currently being reviewed but no final decision has yet been made.”
Staff in the office said they were told all administrative staff there are being redeployed.
Mr Dundas of the IFA said his members will be lobbying local TDs on this issue.
“If there is an issue with identity cards, or a problem with disease control or even registrations, it is amazing what you can get done if you meet someone face to face, especially farmers who wouldn’t be up to date with the online system. The bottom line is that members that are able to do their business online – those farmers, it is very seldom they will visit the office. I suppose, in view of the fact that you have more farmers over 80 than under 35, it doesn’t augur well for those farmers.
“It is a bit disappointing since the Clare office was closed and they are talking about centralising the whole operation to Naas at the moment, which kind of rules out the person-to-person contact altogether,” he said.
Continuing, the IFA leader said, “In view of the fact that we don’t have a DVO office in Clare at the moment, I think this is a step too far at this stage. I think they will need to maintain a level of service in Limerick for both Limerick and Clare farmers. Take Kilkee, you are more than 60 miles from the Limerick office, so if it goes to Naas, it rules out the personal contact. To think you have to drive from West Clare to Naas, it is not on,” he said.
Not only would the reduction or removal of services mean an inconvenience for farmers, it could add to costs, according to Mr Dundas.
“It probably will add more cost because a lot of those farmers will have to get an agent to look after their business,” he explained.
Mr Dundas added that the local IFA branch has not been notified by the department.
Clare TD Pat Breen, who had vociferously opposed the closure of the Clare office in 2010, said he has spoken to Minister Simon Coveney about it and was told no decision is yet finalised in relation to the Limerick office.
“I stressed the importance of having this facility for farmers in Clare, given the fact that the Ennis office closed a few years ago. While I realise the department has to make efficiencies, I emphasised to the minister in very strong words that it is important to me that farmers have full support and full services in Limerick.
“Not every farmer can use email and I don’t want them to be put onto a call centre and asked to press one for such and such a service and so on.  It is very important that they get to talk to someone, face to face. I stressed that at least there should be someone in an office there to talk one to one.”
Deputy Breen said Minister Coveney “was concerned about it, to be fair and took my views on board and said that he would come back to me on it but he said no decision had yet been made”.