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Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 10 May 1994

Vol. 442 No. 5

Written Answers. - Office Opening Hours.

Martin Cullen

Ceist:

73 Mr. Cullen asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry the times at which local Department offices are open to members of the public; the times at which staff in the special beef premium office of his Department, in Portlaoise, County Laois provide assistance over-the-counter; if he has satisfied himself that there is adequate staff and time available to deal with individual queries at the above offices; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

From Monday, 14 February 1994, my Department's local offices, the special beef premium unit in Portlaoise and the Castlebar office have been open to the public between the hours of 9.30 a.m. and 12.30 p.m. Previously, the local offices were open to the public between 10 a.m. and 12.30 p.m. and 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. The special beef premium unit and the Castlebar office were previously open between the hours of 9.15 a.m. and 12.45 p.m. and 2 p.m. and 5.30 p.m.

The measure was taken specifically to facilitate final processing of the 1993 headage and premium schemes and to expedite payments of grants under the schemes. Considerable progress has been made on this front. The position in relation to opening hours is being kept under review.
With regard to the issue of staffing, my Department has recently assigned 58 additional temporary staff to local offices and the special beef premium unit to assist in the processing of payments and a further 12 temporary staff are in the process of being recruited. In addition, I have set up a special unit in this Department to deal with area aid applications. I believe that this level of staffing is adequate to deal with queries arising.
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