Just one veterinary inspector has been hired by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine during the year to date, according to the Fianna Fail spokesperson on agriculture and food, Charlie McConalogue.

The information comes a week after Taoiseach Leo Varadkar announced that approximately 1,000 additional veterinary and customs inspectors will be hired over the course of the next 12 months to prepare the country’s ports and airports for the UK’s looming departure from the European Union.

Deputy McConalogue is now accusing the Government of “being asleep at the wheel” in planning for all Brexit scenarios.

“The Government should have been planning for all possible Brexit outcomes to ensure the agri-food sector is protected. However, all of the available data shows that the required level of planning simply hasn’t been happening.

“The Taoiseach announced last week that the Government is planning to hire 1,000 officials – including 300 veterinary inspectors – in the event of a no-deal Brexit.

Both the Taoiseach and the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Michael Creed, have failed to set out how they will deliver on this commitment.

Considering that the Department of Agriculture currently has 245 veterinary inspectors, according to the deputy, he is urging Minister Creed to “immediately outline” how 300 additional qualified inspectors will be recruited by March 2019.

“The latest available information shows that Minister Creed has so far ignored the red flags that have been raised within his department regarding the need to increase resources for border inspection posts for live animals and animal products imported from countries outside of the EU,” he said.

‘Stunning’

The Fianna Fail representative for Co. Donegal highlighted how the Government has repeatedly outlined that new inspection posts are required at Dublin Port, Dublin Airport and Shannon Airport and that “major planning” is required for the possibility of a “no-deal” scenario.

“Minister Creed has confirmed this week that his department only expects to complete a costed action plan by September to cater for increased sanitary and phytosanitary [related to health of plants] controls – including staffing and upgrading infrastructure at ports and airports.

Shockingly, for over 12 months, the minister sat on his hands when the warnings were clearly flagged by department officials to upgrade border inspection posts in advance of Brexit.

“This is a stunning lack of attention and poor preparedness to the biggest threat to face Irish agriculture and farm families in living memory,” concluded deputy McConalogue.