The Department of Agriculture recently published the updated Farmers Charter and it details how to make a complaint if you’re not happy after a farm inspection.

The move comes in the wake of the Department and the main farming organisations recently concluding months of negotiations on a the new Charter.

The Charter is effectively an agreement between both parties on improving the standards and delivery targets for the Department’s schemes and services, including on-farm inspections, and brings clarity to the arrangements around inspections.

The document is designed to set out in very clear language, the timelines, application, payment and appeals processes and is a very useful reference for farmer.

How to make a complaint

One element of the new Charter is the procedure farmers can take to make a complaint following a farm inspection.

If a farmer is unhappy about any aspect of our services and general service commitments, farmers can contact the manager of the division concerned who will look into the matter for you.

You can also write directly to the Quality Service Unit.

The Department says it will acknowledge your complaint within 3 working days and aim to deal with your complaint within 15 working days. If we need to carry out further research we will let you know and try to have completed this within 30 working days. Full details can be found in our Customer Complaints Procedure.

Complaints may also be made under Investigations Division’s Code of Practice (a copy of which is available on the Department’s website). Such complaints can also be sent directly to the Quality Service Unit.

Complaints may also be raised at the Monitoring Committee in relation to the above issues.

The Investigations Division will be subject to the same complaints, review and appeals procedures as all other divisions of the Department. The Investigations Division will also be subject to the Charter Monitoring Committee.

Review/ Appeals Procedures

For more informations and contact details visit the Department of Agriculture website www.agriculture.gov.ie.