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.