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Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 7 Oct 1997

Vol. 481 No. 1

Other Questions. - Action Programme for the Millennium.

Jack Wall

Question:

19 Mr. Wall asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food if he intends setting up an independent agency to administer payments to farmers as set out in An Action Programme for the Millennium; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15495/97]

The Action Programme for the Millennium commits the Government to the establishment of an independent agency to administer FEOGA and other payments such as a premia to farmers. I am preparing for early submission to Government, proposals to set up the agency. I hope to be in a position to proceed with its establishment within weeks.

I am delighted the Minister will implement this programme because if one looks at other questions tabled today, one will note the concern of rural Deputies about payments from the Department of Agriculture and Food. We will keep a watchful eye so that weeks do not become months in this case. I hope, as the Minister said, it will take weeks to implement the programme. If not, further questions will be raised about this matter.

On what basis will this independent agency be established? Will some staff in the Department of Agriculture and Food be seconded to the new agency? How many people will be involved? What commitment will be given to farmers on the charter of rights? If payments are not made on time, will the Department take responsibility?

Will the Minister give us an insight into the Food Safety Board, another independent agency? At what stage are the Governments deliberations with the Food Safety Board? How many staff from the Department of Agriculture and Food will move to the new board? Is it expected this new agency will employ 1,000 or 100 people? While this does not relate to the question tabled, people want to know what is happening with the Food Safety Board. Many people do not understand the need to set up a new agency. Will the same apply to the payments board and how many people will be involved in it?

While I understand a separate question has been tabled on the proposed food safety authority, I will be glad to answer questions on it. The FEOGA and direct payments agency will be established. The proposal has not yet gone to Government so I am not in position to give the final detail. However, it will go to Government within weeks. It will be an independent autonomous agency under the control of the Minister for Agriculture and Food, a sizeable body with staff numbers well in excess of 1,000. The body will be responsible for FEOGA payments, intervention, export refunds, headage payments, premia and agricultural structures. A considerable number of payments will be involved. For example, up to £1 billion per annum is paid in direct payments under FEOGA and support arrangements for the industry. Total payments reach £1.5 billion per annum so we are talking about the involvement of a sizeable number of staff which will entail discussions with the social partners, the unions and staff associations, in particular, which are ongoing. I expect to be in a position to go to Government in regard to this agency within a matter of weeks.

The purpose of setting up the agency is to streamline the payments system, to ensure there are adequate controls and discipline within the system and to free up senior Department staff to give policy advice, which is their core function. Senior staff must have sufficient time to give the best possible advice to the Minister, particularly given the prospect of Agenda 2000 and another GATT round.

Deputy Connaughton raised the question of the efficiency of the payments system. By and large, the system is relatively good, apart from applications which contain errors. The commitments in the charter of rights have largely been met. As far as I am concerned, if it is possible to improve the system we will ensure that is done. There is a continual improvement in the information technology systems there.

In addition, there is also the major question of the controls required by Brussels on the payment of such large amounts of money. That will be a major function of this new unit.

Does the Minister envisage this independent agency operating a number of local units, or at least a number of regional units, as opposed to one centralised agency? That would allow farmers to sort out problems face to face with the relevant officials, rather than getting entangled in a bureaucratic nightmare in which they could be disallowed payments to which they were entitled.

The existing network of offices throughout the country will be maintained. I hope access to them will be improved and that the very good rapport which farmers and producers have with those offices will be maintained. However, it will be a separate unit within the Department, with individual responsibility for the making of FEOGA and direct aid payments and the vitally necessary controls of those payments.

Will the Minister ask his Department to deal speedily with people with genuine problems, such as wrong tag numbers, who currently have to wait six or eight months for a reply? That creates all sorts of problems——

We seem to be moving away from Question No. 19.

I do not think so — it is in relation to payments to farmers. The most important thing is to get the cheque. I know people who have been waiting six and eight months for a reply from the Department. I received an apology from one of the Minister's officials yesterday because I received a reply last week to a query which I submitted last February. That is not good enough. Can these matters be dealt with more speedily, particularly when people's livelihoods depend on those cheques?

I can identify totally with what Deputy Ring said because, in common with most Members present, I represent a rural constituency. We have a fair amount of interaction with our constituents who regularly bring to our attention innocent errors in their applications. There has been a considerable improvement in the standard of applications over the years because the forms now have improved information notes and people take greater care in filling them out. Nonetheless, bottlenecks and delays occur from time to time.

During my last period as Minister I set up an inquiry unit for Members of the Oireachtas, which has worked very well. The staff of that unit work very hard and any Member to whom I have spoken about it has received a response within 24 hours, although it might not always have been a positive response. My predecessor set up an appeal system in an effort to examine applications with which there were difficulties and to deal with them separately. That system works relatively well.

However, there is a plethora of schemes and payments — ten and 22 month payments, deseasonalisation payments, the ewe premium, headage payments, area aid schemes and digitalisation — with changes being made to them, combined with percentage, final and top-up payments. The staff are working flat out and as anyone who visits or contacts the offices in Castlebar or Portlaoise will be aware, the staff are courteous although they are under a fair amount of pressure. When this arrangement of schemes was introduced in 1994 they had to make many repayments. They have done a particularly good job and they are subject to audit by the Department and the EU. They cannot make payments willy-nilly but must have supporting evidence. We will ensure the efficiency of the payments system as far as is possible.

I agree with the Minister's compliments to the staff. Can anything be done about the problem with the area aid maps before the payments are made for 1997? I know he and the Minister of State are aware of this problem which is causing great difficulties. If the maps are not deemed to be correct the farmers will not be paid. Will the Minister give a commitment to the many farmers who have problems with maps that their cases will be examined shortly?

This issue is the subject of another question. I called to Hume House some time ago to see the system being operated. Since there have been difficulties with the harvest I asked the staff to make a particular effort to get the payments out as quickly as possible this year. I am confident a large number of payments will be made from 16 October. I expect that a high percentage of payments will be made on and from that date.

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