The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) has said that there was “little impact” on the processing of farm schemes as a result of water damage to one of its offices.
On the morning of Wednesday, July 3 water pipes at the department’s premises at Johnstown Castle in Co. Wexford burst.
The department previously confirmed to Agriland that this resulted in staff having to be evacuated from the office.
The incident caused significant water damage to certain areas of the building.
DAFM
In a statement a DAFM spokesperson told Agriland that the department’s offices at Johnstown Castle reopened to all staff on Wednesday, July 10.
“As the building was closed for only one week, and the staff were working remotely during this time, there has been no impact on farm payments at this location and little impact on the scheme processing,” they said.
“The damaged area has been sealed off for repairs, and staff from that area have been relocated to other sections of the building temporarily,” the spokesperson added.
The repairs to the affected areas of the offices are being managed by Office of Public Works (OPW).
“As these are emergency works, consisting of both fabric repairs and mechanical and electrical aspects, the final cost is yet to be determined,” the DAFM spokesperson said.
The department said it expected that the staff who were required to vacate the affected space will be able to move back by this week.
The department of agriculture employs around 4,000 staff members in multiple locations across Ireland.
DAFM operates from six large centralised locations across the country, with a presence also in a further 16 regional offices and a large number of other locations countrywide.
The staff are employed across a range of disciplines including veterinarians, engineers, scientists, inspectors, and administrators.