Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail)

I welcome the opportunity to contribute on this important issue. Rural Ireland requires the services of various Departments and, from a rural perspective, the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food offices have been an absolute requirement for the dispersed farming and rural community. A Government decision was taken in line with budgetary and economic matters to control spending in that Department, which I can understand. However, at the time an effort was made to undermine to some extent the work that is carried out in those offices. Some sought to suggest that much of the work could be dealt with over the telephone or on the Internet. Nothing could be further from the truth.

It is an absolute requirement that a number of satellite or part-time offices be established in those counties affected by the closure of their central district veterinary office. In the case of County Clare, a workable solution would be to have a satellite or temporary office within the confines of Ennis Mart, a location where farmers congregate on Tuesdays and Thursdays. This would provide an adequate and appropriate location for the services of the Department, especially in regard to veterinary matters, and would ensure that farmers had easy access to those services. In recent weeks farmers have found considerable difficulty in getting through the office in Limerick, now the designated office for County Clare farmers, despite their consistent efforts to reach or make contact with that office by telephone. This is creating great levels of frustration, especially for those farmers who require services for getting permits to have diseased animals slaughtered and many other regular interactions they would have with Department offices.

The suggestion that much of this business is transacted now over the Internet is a fallacy. Some larger farmers may have business of a kind that enables them to conduct it over the Internet but for the vast majority, especially smaller farmers, of whom there are many in County Clare, it is not acceptable to suggest they can transact their business in this way.

I appeal to the Minister of State to give serious consideration to this. I do not believe there would be any - or at least, not many - additional costs associated with having a member of departmental personnel located on a site within the mart complex in Ennis a number of days a week. There would be no increase in staff complement arising from such a decision and it would show a very strong commitment by the Department to service the farming community.

It is important this be dealt with now because there is a considerable amount of hardship as a result of the inability of some to make telephone contact with the Department. In addition, it is a complex journey to reach the office in Limerick, particularly from the north and west of the county. For that reason, I appeal again to the Minister of State to review this matter at the earliest opportunity. I do not ask him to incur any additional expense on behalf of the Department but to utilise existing services in an efficient manner that provides the best available service to the farming community.

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