The chair of the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) Rural Development Committee has said that the new Farmers’ Charter of Rights is close to being finalised.
John Curran told an IFA meeting on a farm in Co. Clare last night (Wednesday, May 29) that work is continuing on the new agreement.
The event on the dairy farm of Rosaleen O’Reilly in Quin was held as part of the IFA’s “Enough is Enough” campaign.
Farmers’ Charter
The Farmers’ Charter of Rights is an agreement between the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) and the main farming organisations, primarily in relation to the standards and delivery targets for the department’s schemes and services.
The IFA Rural Development chair said that the farm organisation sought to include “three basic things” in the new charter.
He said that the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) has agreed to a proposal for 48 hours’ notice to be given to farmers ahead of farm inspections.
Curran said that they wanted to see an end to farming inspectors “pulling up to the gate and walking in” to farms with an hours’ notice, which he said is “not acceptable anymore”.
“They have given a commitment that they will give us up to 48 hours’ notice,” he said.
The meeting heard that the new charter will also require inspectors to provide farmers with a short written report on how the inspection went before they leave the yard.
Curran said that this will help to relieve some of the stress that such inspections cause farmers.
He added that a new “agri appeals committee” will allow farmers who are unhappy with the outcome of an inspection to air their grievances. This committee will be now chaired by an independent person.
It is anticipated that the new Farmers’ Charter of Rights will be published in the coming weeks.