Dispute causes hardship among farm families

FARM families are suffering hardship because of the effects of the month-old dispute involving staff in local offices of the Department of Agriculture and Food.

Fine Gael Parliamentary Party chairman Tom Hayes made the claim when calling on Agriculture Minister Joe Walsh to intervene directly in the dispute over promotional outlets. Mr Hayes said the dispute had led to a shutdown of services to farmers and everything from the payment of EU monies to the issuing of cattle movement permits has been delayed.

Payment delays were causing families considerable hardship at a time when farming was already in crisis and future prospects were bleak, he said.

The dispute involving members of the Civil and Public Services Union (CPSU) began with a ban on phone and fax queries in local offices. It escalated from March 25 to include the withdrawal of counter duties in the afternoons on a rotating regional basis.

The department deemed the action a refusal to perform core duties and by earlier this week had removed 224 staff from the payroll, saying the decision had not been taken lightly.

CPSU members have been picketing offices in Mayo, Galway, Limerick and Kerry since April 3 and are set to escalate their action from next week at the local office in Clonakilty, Co Cork the minister's hometown. Labour's Dr Mary Upton said the escalation of the dispute requires the minister's direct intervention to protect the farming community and ensure that the integrity of the food chain is not compromised.

ICMSA deputy president Jackie Cahill said the dispute should be resolved without inflicting losses on farmers. There was also a welfare problem, where animals had to be put down because farmers could not obtain the necessary cattle movement permits.

Mr Cahill said he saw no reason why the civil servants involved in the dispute should not return to work after the Easter break and the department's management should facilitate this by agreeing to enter into talks with the union. If there is no return to work by next Wednesday, the department and the Congress of Trade Unions should address the problem under the recently negotiated social partnership programme, he said.

Department officials and the CPSU met on April 2, but no basis for a settlement emerged.