The Agricultural Consultants Association (ACA) has announced that its members’ offices will be closed to the public until further notice, and that appointments will be “strictly by appointment only”.
The ACA decision was made “in the interest of the health and safety” of its members and their staff and clients.
ACA member offices will remain operational “to meet the demand from farmers for the critical deadlines of April 8 for the Nitrates Derogation applications and associated documents, and the May 15 [deadline] for the BPS [Basic Payments Scheme] and all related applications”.
These are exceptionally challenging times for everyone in Ireland. ACA members will ensure that all deadlines are met on behalf of our 55,000 farmer clients. The majority of issues can be discussed through phone calls and emails.
Tom Canning, recently-appointed president of the ACA, said the association’s members “will be contacting their clients individually in the forthcoming days and weeks to ensure their applications are submitted in time for all deadlines”.
“We are working very closely with the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine to resolve any issues and find solutions collectively to ensure workflows can continue as smoothly as possible for our clients under the current circumstances,” Canning stressed.
The ACA outlined its current arrangements and protocols to help mitigate the spread of Covid-19:
- ACA members’ offices will remain closed to the public until further notice and meetings will be strictly by appointment only;
- Where essential meetings must take place, all necessary health and safety guidelines as recommended by the HSE will be strictly implemented;
- Farm visits will be completed only where it is deemed essential, for example nitrates issues, including farmyard assessments, and for Targeted Agricultural Modernisation Scheme (TAMS) applications. All protocols as outlined by the Health Service Executive (HSE) will be adhered to and ACA members will conduct such work without any interaction with the client(s) and others;
- Where possible, all communications with clients will be completed through phone calls and emails. ACA members will be flexible to meet the needs of clients;
- ACA members will try to keep their clients informed and work closely with them to meet all deadlines;
- Working hours and circumstances may change for some ACA members and their clients will be informed directly by the individual member;
- Updates on behalf of the ACA and its members will be available on the ACA website.