There is growing concern over the impact of the loss of frontline clerical services at Roscommon District Veterinary Office (DVO). More than 100 people attended a public meeting at Roscommon Mart on Monday night this week to discuss the issue.
Organisers of the meeting say the loss of staff will adversely affect the farmers in Roscommon and indeed the West of Ireland.
Speaking on Shannonside radio this week Charles Clarke, a member of the ICSA national executive, said: “An office that is functioning with 14 clerical staff who run the office and handle all the queries from the farmers, to be reduced to one and a half clerical officers who will be asked to handle all the clerical queries from farmers is unacceptable. The only people that will suffer are the farmers, the exporters and in particular the marts. Because marts need to fix a problem on the day of a sale by ringing your local office.”
According to Clarke, the meeting was chaired by Frank Nally, retired Ulster Bank manager and farmer. Speaking at the event was Maura Quigley representing the marts, John Gilmore representing Veterinary Ireland, John O Beirne, Irish Farmers Association Roscommon, Hubert Maxwell livestock exporter, John Brooks ICSA sheep committee and Bernard Donoghue of Agri Aware.
In a statement issued last month the Department of Agriculture said Roscommon DVO will not close. It said the Roscommon office would be considered for a transfer of administrative functions to another regional office but that “front-line services would be fully maintained”.
Related:
Ireland’s District Veterinary Offices have reduced from 58 to 16
Roscommon DVO will not close, department
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