Vol. 472 No. 4
29 Mr. J. Walsh asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry if he has satisfied himself that his commitment in the Charter of Rights for Farmers is being adhered to; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23234/96]
32 Miss Coughlan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry if the commitments made in the farmers' charter are being met. [23388/96]
77 Mr. Moynihan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry if he will make a statement on the lack of performance made under the Charter of Rights for Farmers; and the measures, if any, he proposes to take to ensure that the commitments under the charter are met. [23335/96]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 29, 32 and 77 together.
Since I took office as Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry in December 1994, I have been committed to improving the level of efficiency and effectiveness in the Department's operations. The first step I took was to publish a Charter of Rights for Farmers which is a commitment by me, by my colleague the Minister of State, Deputy Deenihan, and by the staff of the Department to a quality, user friendly service. I am satisfied that the charter is working well and that the farming community welcomes the improved service.
The charter envisaged a programme of substantially improved services to farmers. The payment targets set for 1995 and 1996 have been largely met and in some cases exceeded. Significant progress has been made on improving office accommodation in all our offices in line with the commitment to providing confidential office consultations for farmers and better accommodation for staff. In this context work commenced this week on a £4 million extension and refurbishment to our offices in Castlebar and new local offices are being built in a number of counties. In addition an improved telephone system is being installed in our local offices.
The commitment to establish an appeals unit was met on target and I am pleased to say that this is working well. The review group to monitor the implementation of the charter has been established and is meeting quarterly. The farm organisations are represented on this group and I believe that this provides a very useful forum to monitor progress on all commitments given in the charter.
In the light of progress achieved, I am disappointed that due to industrial relations difficulties, the charter commitment of having an information desk, or "one-stop-shop", in place has not yet been achieved. However, the introduction of this service has been agreed in the context of a restructuring deal which is now being considered by staff of the union concerned.
