Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 22 Feb 2000

Vol. 514 No. 6

Written Answers. - Information Seminars.

Beverley Flynn

Ceist:

74 Ms Cooper-Flynn asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Rural Development the level of farmer interest and response to the series of information seminars held and organised jointly by his Department and Teagasc on the new Agenda 2000 payments; his views on whether these seminars serve a two-fold purpose of helping farmers maximise income from these payments and minimising farmer error in filling out forms and thereby enhancing efficiency generally; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4701/00]

Minister for Agriculture, Food and Rural Development (Mr. Walsh)

There was a high level of farmer interest in the recent series of seminars organised jointly by my Department and Teagasc. Initially 41 meetings were planned for the period between 10 and 20 January but, owing to the exceptional level of interest, an additional 25 meetings were organised. The series ended on 2 February, by which time more than 30,000 farmers had attended the 66 meetings.

The meetings were arranged to complement the information booklet Guide to Agenda 2000 Changes sent individually to farmers in December 1999, and to provide a forum for farmers to seek clarification of the new requirements.

The meetings were, therefore, concerned to ensure that farmers understood the changes to livestock and arable premium schemes arising from the Agenda 2000 package to minimise confusion and error when completing application forms, and to advise farmers how best to maximise their payments under the new arrangements.

On the basis of the feedback received I am satisfied that the seminars made a substantial contribution to improving farmers' understanding of the changes and new requirements.

Detailed reports of questions asked and issues raised were compiled by my officials following each meeting. These reports are now being analysed with a view to identifying areas of potential difficulty and confusion to see how they may best be addressed. Particular attention will be paid to these issues when preparing scheme documents, guidelines, helpsheets and checklists.

I am satisfied that the format adopted was of considerable assistance to farmers. It is my intention, as part of the measures I am adopting to make my Department's services more responsive to farmers' needs, to make further use of this information seminar approach where this will be helpful in familiarising farmers with developments in schemes and services.