Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 1 Apr 2003

Vol. 564 No. 1

Departmental Offices.

Mr. Connaughton

I thank the Chair for allowing me to raise this important issue, namely, the question of the ongoing internal dispute within the Department of Agriculture and Food concerning lack of promotional opportunities in the regional offices and other matters. I warn the Minister that failure to deal with these issues will create havoc in the farming community in the near future.

I understand that offices such as the district veterinary offices in Galway, Limerick, Kerry, Mayo and other areas are not open to the public at the moment and are not taking telephone calls. I also understand that members of staff in some of the DVOs have been informed that their wages will be withheld from tomorrow and if this happens we can expect trouble.

I understand that there are several residual staff-related issues that have been long-fingered and now the chickens are coming home to roost. There appears to be a daft and potentially serious row going on between field staff who provide on-the-spot farm inspection reports and administrative staff. I understand this has been simmering beneath the surface for nearly a year.

I put the Minister on notice that farmers received the final balance of last year's suckler cow grant in February. This is the first week of April but they have not yet received this year's grant. According to the Minister, this happened because each farmer's file must be inspected for overpayment under all schemes. If the staff are not allowed to process the file, farmers may not get this money until late June or July. Worse, the 2002 extensification payments are due next month and any unrest or staff relations problems could jeopardise those payments.

I put it to the Minister that a few months of strike might please his colleague, the Minister for Finance, Deputy McCreevy, given the current climate of economic disaster, and it appears that the Minister for Agriculture and Food is in no hurry to have this matter resolved either. I understand that staff will not be paid from tomorrow. I have a number of questions. This is a national issue. It is a national strike. Is it true that there are no promotional opportunities in the regions? I am told that there is no shortage of promotional opportunities in Agriculture House. Perhaps the Minister would explain the problem. Why has that ongoing row, which I mentioned, between the on-farm inspection staff and the administrative staff to whom they give their files, not been dealt with? This cropped up last autumn and several farmers were not paid for months because of it. I thought it had been solved at that stage, but apparently it has not been. It seems that there is general unrest. I would like to be brought up-to-date on the exact position concerning the unions and the Department.

I want a lasting and immediate solution to ensure that the staff are allowed to process the claims of thousands of farmers. The perilous state of agriculture is causing a loss of cash flow for many farmers and many are leaving farming altogether.

The closing date for receipt of applications for area aid was extended to 7 April but they are not being taken tomorrow or this week in the Galway office. I ask the Minister of State to clarify the position.

Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture and Food (Mr. Treacy)

The Department of Agriculture and Food regrets any inconvenience caused to the public, especially the farming community, by the industrial action currently being taken by the CPSU. Members of this union in local agriculture offices voted in favour of industrial action to secure improved promotion structures. The initial action was effective from 18 March 2003 and involved CPSU members not performing duties arising from telephone calls or faxes.

There are 790 CPSU members involved in the dispute. There are a further 60 executive officers, 29 higher executive officers and eight regional higher executive officers serving in the Department's local offices around the country. The CPSU advised the Department that with effect from 25 March 2003, the dispute would be regionalised, and the country was divided into four regions: region one, Waterford, Cork, Tipperary north, Tipperary south and Clare; region two, Limerick, Kerry, Galway and Mayo; region three, Longford, Sligo, Roscommon, Cavan, Donegal and Monaghan; and region four, Carlow, Dublin, Kildare, Kilkenny, Laois, Meath, Offaly, Wexford, Westmeath and Wicklow.

Industrial action rotates between the regions on a weekly basis. Normal duties are being carried out by CPSU members in regions other than the one engaged in industrial action. Region one commenced industrial action on 25 March 2003. This involved a ban on telephone and fax inquiries and counter duties in the afternoon, which continued until 28 March 2003. Region two has been engaged in a similar action since 31 March 2003.

The industrial action will rotate between regions as follows: region two, from 31 March 2003 to 4 April 2003; region three, from 7 April 2003 to 11 April 2003; and region four, from 14 April 2003 to 17 April 2003.

The CPSU has advised that the action will apply to FDS offices and regional laboratories in addition to local livestock offices and district veterinary offices. The Department does not accept that any commitment was made to the union in respect of staffing in local offices and does not accept that the union has a valid basis for industrial action. While officials will meet CPSU representatives tomorrow to discuss the situation I emphasise that these negotiations are constrained by the terms of the PPF and the proposed Sustaining Progress agreement and the continuing need to control public expenditure.

CPSU members will benefit from the 7% general pay awards under the Sustaining Progress agreement provided they are adjudged to have adhered to the terms. They will also receive a further 8.5% increase awarded under the benchmarking process.

In view of the continuing refusal by union members to perform what are their core duties, the Department has no option but to inform some staff today that they must be removed from the payroll until they resume their normal duties within their assigned offices.

Deputy Connaughton raised some points and as a former Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture he is fully aware that ministerial office holders and politicians have no involvement in personnel matters which are governed by the Civil Service. There is no restriction or prohibition on any member of staff within the Department applying for promotion within the staff system. There is no embargo and staff may apply for promotion at any time given the number of promotions available. They are not debarred from competing for other posts within other sectors of the public service. I hope there can be a meeting of minds on this issue. The closing date for area aid applications has been extended to next Monday, 7 April at 5 p.m. I hope all farmers will be able to submit applications on or before that time. We want to continue to transfer both State and European Union resources to the farmers who urgently need them.

Mr. Connaughton

It seems the Department and the Minister of State have no control over it.