Walshe calls for new charter of rights
He said that there is now an opportunity for the Department of Agriculture to provide for a new and more acceptable protocol for farm inspections which must be agreed and be part of the CAP Health Check.
He was speaking at the first meeting between the IFA and Department of Agriculture to negotiate a new Charter of Farmers’ Rights
He challenged that the current regime of on-the-spot inspections are both impractical and grossly unfair to farmers. and the excessive penalty regime is unacceptable and reasonable tolerances must be put in place.
Pádraig Walshe said now is the opportunity for the Minister of Agriculture and the Department to introduce 14 days advance notice for all farm inspections.
Reasonable tolerances are necessary and must be in place across all schemes, as the farm is a working environment and he criticised attempts by the Department of Agriculture to roll back on earlier commitments on tolerances in the last Charter of Farmers’ Rights.
Pádraig Walshe said it is totally unacceptable to farmers that the Department of Agriculture would attempt to diminish some of the existing tolerances agreed in the last charter and the Department of Agriculture must approach the new charter negotiations with a view to simplifying the bureaucratic cross-compliance burden on farms. Adding new compliance standards in the CAP Health Check cannot be contemplated.
He concluded that between the CAP Health Check and the new charter a more acceptable system to farmers can be put in place, which treats them with the level of respect and dignity, which the current system fails to deliver.
