Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 23 March 2010
707 Deputy Martin Ferris asked the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food the details of consultations or discussions which took place with farming organisation representatives on the closure of his Department’s offices with particular reference to Sligo and to Ballina, County Mayo. [12748/10]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe closures of my Department's local offices in Sligo and Ballina are taking place as part of a major rationalisation plan for my Department that was approved by Government last year. This rationalisation process involves a comprehensive restructuring of the Department's local office network in order to provide a fully integrated service to our farming clients and the wider agri-food and rural environmental sectors at regional level. The plan involves reducing, from 57 to 16, the number of offices from which the Department will operate District Veterinary, Forestry and Agricultural Environment and Structures support services in the future. This will result in a reduction of some 400 in the number of staff working in my Department. This reorganisation will yield significant savings for the exchequer.
The decision to close some forty offices of my Department was made only after a detailed study of the Department's operations at local level had been completed. Decisions were made in relation to the overall strategy and against a background of major changes in the Department's operating environment in recent years brought about by the impact of the Single Farm Payment, benefits derived from substantial investment in Information Communications Technology and significant reductions in the incidence of disease. These improvements in business processes, information technology and communications will allow my Department to provide to all of our clients, the full range of services from the 16 enhanced offices set out in the plan.
The closure of offices in Sligo and Ballina will result in the transfer of work to Drumshanbo, Co Leitrim and Castlebar, Co Mayo, respectively. All farmers in the county are notified prior to the closure of offices informing them of the changes and providing them with a Lo-call telephone number for their new regional office. The 16 enhanced regional offices will offer a comprehensive "one stop shop" service to all our clients encompassing the work of the District Veterinary Office, Integrated Controls and Agricultural Environment and Structures support services. In addition our farming clients will be able to access information relating to applications for Single Farm Payment from their regional office where previously they had to contact my Department's office in Portlaoise for such information.
