asked the Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries if he is satisfied that the advisory services supervising the new modernisation scheme will have sufficient time to help the transitional farmer.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Agricultural Advisory Services.
184.
I have no reason to doubt that committees of agriculture will provide in their counties a satisfactory service for all the farmers, including transitional farmers, who need advice under the farm modernisation scheme.
Would the Minister be in a position to say if any progress has been made in the present dispute with the advisers? As well as that— I will accept a global answer—is the Minister satisfied, in view of the way this new scheme has to be implemented, there would be sufficient advisers to do the work they are doing at present and also undertake the large job they will have to do in future in processing and advising on applications for farm modernisation scheme grants?
As the Deputy is aware, the advisory service has had responsibility for the small farm incentive bonus scheme. The work involved in the small farm incentive scheme is very like that in the farm modernisation scheme. It is expected that most small farm incentive scheme participants will join this scheme. There is very little difference from the type of work they were asked to carry out previously—they had to be responsible for farm accounts and all that sort of thing whereas now they will not—and that for which they will be responsible in the future. Of course this scheme will have to develop and the CAOs will have to decide themselves what the demands building up on them are. If they feel they are being overloaded I assume they will be making applications for extra staff.
Is the Minister not aware that there is a deadlock with the CAOs at present about the carrying out of this scheme?
I would not describe it as a deadlock at all.
The Minister overlooked the first part of my supplementary question when I asked him if any progress had been made in the dispute with the advisers. Would he like to avail of the opportunity of saying a few words on it?
I met the representatives of the advisory services on the 17th January. I undertook to involve myself in the matters they raised with me. Unfortunately on the 13th of the same month, 13 days later, they sent out advices to the advisory people telling them not to co-operate in this scheme. I was disappointed; I said so and I wrote to them along those lines. In that letter I told them I was still working on what I had undertaken to do and that I would arrange to meet them as soon as I had something to propose. I have arranged to meet them; I think it is on the 15th of the month.