It is sad that I have to raise this case in the Dáil. With no disrespect to the Minister who is present, there are three Ministers in Agriculture House and I am disappointed not one of them is here to deal with this problem.
The family concerned applied for 10.35 hectares on their 1999 area aid application. The Department stated there were only 9.16 hectares when it processed the application, a difference of 1.19 hectares. That means a penalty of 2.38 hectares resulting in payment on 6.78 hectares only.
This matter has been going on for 12 months. The family has submitted copy maps and title deeds to prove their entitlement to the land. They even called personally to the area aid unit last year to resolve the matter. The wife telephoned the local number on several occasions and has dealt with five different people in the area aid unit. These people are very frustrated. The wife came into my office on two occasions last month and was very upset because she cannot put up with the problem for much longer. This problem was resolved last year but it has arisen again this year. The other problem is that these people are not told why their payments have not arrived. They must then find out why they have not been paid, which cannot be resolved over the telephone. It does not matter that the local number is low cost because if anyone rings the area aid unit, they are put on hold for up to an hour. This is not fair to the public.
When documents are submitted to correct errors, it can take several weeks for them to be dealt with. In 1998, area aid officials travelled around the country to resolve commonage problems yet the same problems resurfaced in 1999. Applicants are paying back interest and losing money because of high telephone bills due to the Department's inefficiency. What does a farmer have to do to clear a problem on his application? They cannot telephone because they are put on hold. This family went to the unit in person and the problem was still not resolved.
It was no wonder that on page 28 of the Ombudsman's report last week, the Department of Agriculture, Food and Rural Development was severely criticised because of the way it deals with complaints and the public. There was a major complaint about the area aid unit. It is not good enough. The Department should immediately establish complaints boards in each county so people do not have to keep telephoning and writing.
The Minister, Deputy Walsh, yesterday said he supported anti-poverty initiatives. This family has been caused great hardship by the Department which has made them wait for their payment. They have been doing their best. They went to Dublin to try to resolve their problem, spoke to five different officials and a year later their problem still has not been resolved. I do not want to hear the Minister of State telling me the payments made last year. We have to deal with the problems, not the payments made. I did not want to take up the time of this House tonight but it is wrong that a family must suffer and wait without a structure in place to deal with their problem.
I am disappointed the Minister is not here but I am not surprised – the Three Wise Men came from the east and we have three disasters from the south dealing with agriculture. If any Minister was doing his job, he would not allow what has been going on in the area aid unit for the past few years to continue. I hope the Minister of State will have a satisfactory response in relation to this case. This family is suffering – they have debts and loans to repay and they have to feed their children. They are not asking for anything from the State – all they are asking for are the agriculture payments due to them.
