asked the Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries the number of agricultural instructors in the country employed by his Department or by county committees of agriculture on 1st January in 1973, 1974 and 1975.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Agricultural Instructors.
3.
There is one assistant agricultural inspector acting as parish agent employed by my Department. This officer performs the functions of an agricultural instructor in the area where he operates.
The number of agricultural instructors, including chief agricultural officers and deputy chief agricultural officers employed by committees of agriculture is as follows:
1st January, 1973, 460; 1st January, 1974, 469; 1st January, 1975, 482.
Does the Minister think there are enough agricultural instructors to process applications under the farm modernisation scheme? There is a big backlog and it is obvious to everybody that twice the number of instructors are required.
I explained yesterday that the backlog of applications under the 159 Scheme is being reduced rapidly. This indicated the capacity of the advisory service to catch up. The speed has been increasing each month for the past three months. The number is adequate, especially when the county committees know that if they require additional clerical assistance they can apply for and be given that assistance.
Is the Minister aware that agricultural instructors rarely visit farms on field duty now because they are engaged on this other work? Field work is being neglected completely.
They are doing far better work than they ever did before.
Is it not desirable that this work should continue as before?
In my view they are now getting down to the job of advising farmers.
They do not go out on the land any more because of this agricultural instructors be available other work.
Does the Minister agree it is desirable that sufficient to give the service hitherto provided by them until the farm modernisation scheme came into being? Is the Minister aware that since the initiation of this scheme the time of the instructors is taken up in its implementation? Is this a desirable feature?
I am not aware that their full time is taken up with this scheme. I am well aware that instructors are doing other work besides the work on this scheme. We have not had sufficient indication yet that the numbers are inadequate. If that can be shown and proven, we will have another look at the situation.
Did the Minister have requests from the county committees of agriculture for permission to appoint additional officers in the advisory service so that committees may properly fulfil their duties with regard to the implementation of the farm modernisation scheme and carry on with the work they did prior to the introduction of this scheme?
I am not aware of any requests for additional staff that have not been carefully considered. If there are any such cases, I would like to know of them.
Might I ask the Minister——
I have allowed a lot of latitude on this question, Deputy.
The Minister would want to meet him and talk with him.
I meet everybody and talk to everybody.
The Minister does not consult with anybody and that will be a bad mistake.
Order.
Would the Minister say if, in keeping with representations to all Deputies in this House, he has received representations complaining that classification under the farm modernisation scheme has not been indicated to a very large volume of farmers, who do not know where they stand or to what grants they are entitled, so far?
I dealt with that yesterday.
The Minister solved all of the complaints yesterday?
I said that approximately half of the applications that had come in had been processed already and that we were rapidly catching up on the backlog.
Might I ask the Minister further——
We shall have to pass on from this question.
——if Donegal is the exception that has not been dealt with, because I have had numerous complaints of non-classification?
Question No. 4.
It is a feature of the thing that some counties are lagging behind.
The Minister is neglecting the western counties again.
Could the Minister give us an approximate length of time within which the present waiting list of 14,000 applications will be processed?
I am hoping that we will catch up on the backlog in a few months' time.