I thank you, a Cheann Comhairle, for giving me permission to raise this important issue in the House this evening. This problem should never have arisen. The situation has led to the suspension of the farm improvement scheme, the control of farm pollution scheme and the land improvement scheme, to hundreds of farmers in north and west County Roscommon. In addition it has delayed the start-up of the rural environment protection scheme in north and west County Roscommon, an area where there is huge interest in the scheme.
The genesis of the problem goes back to 14 February last when the three higher agricultural officers who operate all those schemes in the region were, without consultation, informed by the Department that they must cease operating from their home offices and transfer to an office in Carrick-on-Shannon, County Leitrim which, for most of them, is miles from the location of their general operations.
This decision to transfer the officers bore no relationship to any necessity or common sense and had nothing to do with saving money or making the service more efficient or effective. It seemed to be wholly related to internal machinations within the Department and the need for someone to exercise authority.
The arrangement by which these officers operated from their home offices was most satisfactory and efficient. The location of their offices was conveniently spread in the area they serviced. The applicants were well aware of the location of their offices and the officers involved provided an excellent service to them. They were often available for consultation, advice and, indeed, inspections well outside office hours.
The officers, understandably, resisted through their union the very peremptory manner of their office transfer. The situation came to a head on 13 May last when the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry agreed an order removing these officers from the payroll of the Department, even though they had continued to work satisfactorily right up to that date and to carry out all the duties assigned to them. In effect, they were not or could not be punished for dereliction of duty, only for not obeying the ridiculous edict that they remove themselves from the work location that was convenient, effective and efficient for everyone to an office in another county that suits nobody apart from someone with an axe to grind.
The industrial action that followed this comedy of errors is having the most damaging effect on hundreds of farmers who have files being dealt with or due to be dealt with by these three officers. Every year in recent years these officers dealt with at least 200 new applicants under the various farm improvement and pollution control measures operated by the Department. In addition to the new applicants there was the carry-over and the ongoing work to deal with and to supervise.
These officers are no longer working and their colleagues, quite rightly, will not undertake any of their work. For the farmer applicants caught up in this dispute the situation is disastrous. Many of them are waiting for long overdue grant money. Others are waiting for inspections to be carried out and cannot commence work on silage slabs, control or effluent, winter housing and better holding facilities. May and June are the time of year when most of this work is done, there was a very large backlog this year as no work could be done because of the appalling weather in the first four months.
The net effect of this will be that hundreds of farmers who want to better their operation or control or eliminate their effluent problems will not be able to undertake such work this year. As far as they are concerned, and as far as I am concerned as a public representative living in the area, the service that existed heretofore worked well. It was conveniently located for the farmer applicants and was effective and efficient. The farmers want that service restored and so do I. I call on the Minister to intervene in this dispute. I believe it is a matter of internal machination within his Department and it is for him to resolve it. I call upon him to do so as quickly as possible.
