asked the Minister for Agriculture if he is aware of the serious situation regarding the lack of sufficient professional veterinary services in the Connemara area of County Galway; if, in view of this situation, he will take immediate steps to rectify the position by creating the necessary incentives to attract veterinary surgeons to practise in this area; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Connemara (Galway) Veterinary Services.
3.
I am not aware that there is a serious lack of veterinary services in the Connemara area. I should add that it is entirely a matter for veterinary surgeons themselves to decide where they set up practice and my Department have no power to direct them in any way in this regard.
Did the Minister ask anybody in Dublin or in the Departmental offices in Galway about the problem?
If I may say so, I would regard that as somewhat frivolous.
I find it totally unacceptable that when all of us in the county know the tremendous problems there are at the moment with the veterinary service and the huge publicity it has got not just locally but nationally as well, the Minister stands up and says he is not aware of the problem.
I did not say I was not aware of the problem. Of course I am aware of the problem. A special subsidy was provided for the veterinary services in question back as far as 1947. The subsidy in question was £500 of which £150 was for transport alone. The subsidy scheme was reviewed in 1971 and it was decided the subsidy should not be increased but would be allowed continue until the incumbent veterinary surgeons had ceased to practice. My Department have no plans to continue the scheme once the present incumbents cease to practise.
Would the Minister accept that the farmers in Connemara for the most part are small herd owners because of the poor quality of the land and, because of the sparse population, veterinary surgeons have to travel huge distances and would he accept that a subsidy based on 1947 figures of £500 is not acceptable today?
No. This is a matter of private enterprise and the incumbent veterinary surgeon received and accepted £16,000 in the year 1982/1983 on TB and brucellosis testing alone and his son during that period received and accepted a sum of £11,000. They are also employed by Galway County Council and as well as that they are private practitioners, so I really cannot see the need for continuing a subsidy of the type described.
I would ask the Minister to make an estimate of the need. The present incumbent is considerably overworked. He cannot service the area properly, or as properly as he and the local farmers would want and, as a result, there are huge delays because of the difficulty in getting from one place to another. Huge distances have to be travelled and I would ask the Minister now to have another look at the situation to ensure that farmers in Connemara get equal service to that in other parts of the country.
I am not aware that they have not that opportunity. The difficulty with regard to distance which existed when the scheme was first introduced no longer exists.