There is a “lack of detail” on when legislation on the National Food Ombudsman will be published and what it will contain, one member of the Seanad has argued.
Speaking to Agriland, Senator Tim Lombard highlighted that €4 million was allocated for the establishment of the ombudsman office in Budget 2022, on top of €1 million that was allocated in last year’s budget for this year.
“What needs to happen now is the minister [for agriculture Charlie McConalogue] needs to put his details before the houses of the Oireachtas and we need to have a real plan going forward about when the legislation is going to be published, what’s in the legislation and how it can actually affect farmers on the ground,” Lombard said.
“We lack that information at the moment.”
“We had €1 million put into it last year to set up the formulation of it. We’re not even sure where that money went. The other €4 million now, details need to be provided about where that’s going to go,” he added.
Specifically, the Fine Gael senator noted that the staffing levels of any new ombudsman office would have to be set out.
He said: “We need to make sure how well resourced the food ombudsman actually will be if we’re looking for a credible ombudsman, following the template of the digital ombudsman. That’s the kind of formation of an office that we require. Some person who is well resourced with good legal backing, with legislation that is going to support them.
“We don’t have that information yet and we need to get it sooner rather than later.
“We’ve raised expectations in the agricultural community about having an ombudsman with power. At the moment we don’t have the timelines,” Lombard concluded.
Similar concerns have also been raised by Macra na Feirme, who said that it is “essential that the government establish the National Food Ombudsman before the end of this year”.
“When we look back at Budget 2021 we saw the minister allocate €1 million for the establishment of the National Food Ombudsman. Fast forward 12 months and the minister has allocated another €4 million.
Macra national president John Keane said: “Questions need to be asked of the government. Where has the €1 million for the establishment of the ombudsman in 2021 gone? It was announced and welcomed last year, yet has just been announced again.
“It is either a priority for the government or it isn’t. Urgent action is required from the government and the Department of Agriculture to address the concerns raised around the establishment of the National Food Ombudsman,” Keane concluded.