Proposed Teagasc office closure a ‘retrograde step’

THE proposed closure of the Teagasc office in Scariff has been described as the equivalent of an anchor tenant pulling out of a major shopping centre by the chairman of the Scariff branch of the IFA. THE proposed closure of the Teagasc office in Scariff has been described as the equivalent of an anchor tenant pulling out of a major shopping centre by the chairman of the Scariff branch of the IFA.
The comments came after a public meeting was held in Scariff on Monday night, where up to 100 people turned out to voice their concern and opposition to Teagasc’s proposal to close its East Clare office, redeploying staff to Ennis.
Speaking to The Clare Champion this week, James O’Brien chairman of the IFA branch in Scariff said, “The Teagasc office would have the same significance to Scariff as an anchor tenant would have in a shopping centre. It is drawing business into the town. The closure of the office would be a retrograde step for the town of Scariff and the general East Clare area. It is not a viable proposition. The building in Scariff is owned by Teagasc and the alternative is to build onto the Ennis office and to sell the Scariff office. That wouldn’t make economic sense. We are going all out to maintain the Teagasc office in Scariff. There has been an agricultural service here for over 100 years. There are 450 clients going through the Teagasc office and for the older generations it is unfair to ask them to travel to Ennis for this service.”
He added that the public meeting held in Scariff on Monday was well attended, which he said, “was testimony to the seriousness and tremendous interest that people have in maintaining the facility”.
Under the proposed closure, staff would be moved to the Ennis office, which would be extended to accommodate the redeployed staff.
“We have to go all out to maintain it. There have been tremendous job losses in Scariff already with the local chipboard factory and this will reduce footfall in the town. It is essential to maintain anything that is generating business for Scariff. It is not logical to extend the building in Ennis, especially if you consider the value of the existing building if you put it up in the current climate,” Mr O’Brien continued.
He warned that if the services are to be relocated it could result in Teagasc losing customers.
“When you relocate a service it does not necessarily mean that the customers will follow and Teagasc could lose out if a private planner was to set up in Scariff,” he said.
Chairing the meeting, Councillor Joe Cooney explained those who attended were concerned and opposed to the closure.
“Generally, people felt this didn’t make sense. The board of Teagasc is adamant that it will reduce its offices nationally from 91 to 51 and Scariff came in under one of those. It was accepted by those who attended that it didn’t make sense to take the office from the heart of the farming community and then having to build on an extension to move it into Ennis,” Councillor Cooney said.
It was suggested by Councillor Cooney to bring the staff from Ennis out to Scariff to make use of the Teagasc-owned facility, which has a number of offices, rather than investing in an extension to the Ennis base thereby taking services from the heart of the farming community in East Clare.
On the panel at the public meeting was Teagasc’s regional manager for Clare and Galway, Brendan Heneghan; James O’Brien, chairman of the IFA branch in Scariff; deputies Michael McNamara, Pat Breen and Timmy Dooley, along with county councillors Pat Hayes, Pat Burke, Michael Begley, Cathal Crowe and Joe Cooney.
Mr Heneghan explained that in 2009 Teagasc embarked on a change programme and decided to proceed with the rationalisation of the Teagasc advisory office network throughout the country.
“Initially, this was for the closure of 18 offices over a period of two years. Subsequent events, including the worsening budgetary situation, the closure of the reps scheme, the publication of the McCarthy report, the public service staff moratorium and the urgent need to reduce advisory service overheads, presented an urgent case for a further review of our office network,” he said.
This review proposed to reduce the office network from 91 offices to 51 by June 1, 2012, yielding a saving of €750,000 per annum. Clare was first affected by this move last year with the closure of the Ennistymon office. However, it was confirmed by Mr Heneghan that offices in Ennis and Kilrush are to be retained.
Mr Heneghan explained the bigger concern from Teagasc’s perspective is not so much the loss of offices but rather the loss of frontline advisory numbers, which is down to the recruitment moratorium.
He said there were 450 Teagasc advisors in 2008 nationally, compared with 300 now. In Clare there were 23 in 2008 and there are currently 14, with an expected drop to 12 in the next couple of years.
Two of the 14 advisors are based in Scariff, four are based in Kilrush and the remainder in Ennis.
“The heel of the hunt is the board of Teagasc has made a decision to close the office in Scariff,” Mr Heneghan stressed but he said the tremendous support shown for the advisory service at Monday’s meeting was “very gratifying”.
He said having spent most of his career involved in agriculture and rural development he could empathise with the people of Scariff concerned about business going from the town.
“Following the McCarthy Report we have been asked to reduce our staff numbers nationally and to reduce our budget and with the present budgetary situation, that won’t change. Every organisation is being cut and will be cut further. It’s a constant battle to keep the service going with fewer resources,” he continued.
Mr Heneghan did stress that “regardless of whether the office is closed or not we would still do our damnedest to do the very best we can for the farmers in East Clare. My aim is to continue to use our resources to the very best we can in the position we find ourselves.”
Following the discussion, a steering committee was formed headed up by Sean Bugler, who was joined by Martin McMahon, chairman of the ICMSA, Paul Bugler, Ger Rodgers and James O’Brien.
It was agreed that this committee would lobby the board of Teagasc and the Minister for Agriculture to retain the office.