IFA fears closure of ‘critical’ District Veterinary Office will dilute services
IFA Dublin county chairman Padraig McMahon said there can be no dilution of the department’s services in these areas resulting from the decision to close the DVO in Tallaght.
He said farmers in north Dublin should be allowed to obtain their DVO services from the Navan DVO office, as opposed to Naas, as it is more convenient in terms of access and traffic.
Mr McMahon said critically important services are provided from the Tallaght office, which must continue to be available to farmers.
He said the service provided from Tallaght to the live export trade and particularly the two live export lairages in the Dublin and Wicklow regions are critical to this important trade.
Mr Smith must give a clear commitment that the DVO changes will not in any way inhibit or restrict the live export trade, he said. “Dublin Port is clearly a high-risk category in terms of bio-security and the minister must ensure the highest level of vigilance and bio-security continues to be applied in terms of animal disease prevention,” he added.
IFA Wicklow chairman James Hill said farmers in the county must continue to be provided with a full service from offices in Wicklow town and Naas in Co Kildare.
He also said the minister must put in place a specific dedicated bio-security unit to cover the high risk associated with Dublin and Dun Laoghaire ports and Dublin Airport.
A spokesperson for the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food said the decision to close Tallaght District Veterinary Office is a continuation of the rationalisation of work and staff. The manner of the implementation of this decision is at present under discussion, the spokesperson said, adding that the department has reduced staff numbers by more than 600 in the past four years and redeployed more than 500 staff to new and expanding functions.
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