Agriland has also provided ‘We’re ‘being left behind’ says farmer with learning difficulties’ as an audio article. Listen below…
A Co. Carlow farmer who has spent more than 10 years campaigning for people with learning difficulties believes that farmers who need specific supports are “being left behind”.
Ned Deering believes that despite his decade long campaign he is still not being listened to.
With constantly upgrading technologies in agriculture, even turning to the use of artificial intelligence (AI) on some farms, and the constant flow of paperwork, Ned had to reluctantly leave the farming system he grew up with.
Ned claims he spent hours on the phone, speaking to members from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) trying to get help for his literacy challenges, but eventually had to give up, due to the “lack of support”.
Retiring was a last resort for Ned, but he felt a sense of “relief” taking a step back.
He is continuing to tell his story in the hope of relieving some of the “stigma” attached to learning difficulties and to get more help from the department.
“I feel like I’m just screaming in the wilderness and no one can hear me,” Ned said.
Learning difficulties
Ned never liked school. Even at the age of 70 now, he still gets angry thinking back to those days.
Unravelling his experiences to Agriland, Ned shared stories of times when he was beaten in school. What seemed to really strike a chord with him was the “humiliation” he faced.
At 13 years of age, he was sent back to the infant class as “punishment” by his teacher. He described the whole scenario as “degrading”.
“I had to sit sideways at the desk because I wouldn’t fit at it,” Ned said.
Shortly after that incident Ned was taken out of school. He was consistently wetting his bed at night with nerves and nightmares of the beatings.
He grew up hiding his learning difficulties after the shame of his time in school.
He took over his father’s beef and tillage farm, and over time switching to a tillage-only enterprise.
Inspection
After years of making up excuses for not reading text, saying things like “oh I don’t have the right glasses with me”, or “that writing is very small, I just can’t see it”, Ned finally had a farm inspection where his life changed completely.
The inspection was for cross compliance and the Rural Environment Protection Scheme (REPS).
His farm passed in the cross compliance area, but he was told that he was following the REPS scheme “seriously wrong”.
“I remember hearing the news, I just seized up.
“I thought now my secret is out, I’ll have to tell them. I stood frozen,” Ned said.
He became depressed after this and although reluctant, began counselling sessions.
Ned’s counsellor recommended getting assessed for dyslexia and shortly after this, he was diagnosed with “severe dyslexia”.
Red tape
The diagnosis brought great “relief” to Ned, and spurred him on to get help.
After his diagnosis, he spent many hours on the phone to DAFM, trying to explain his situation and asking to receive an audio format for rules and regulations.
He said was constantly being passed around the various offices within the department, and was told that the department never received a request like his before.
On talking to one of the access officers at the time, he said he was told that his situation would “open a can of worms”.
Ned was not prepared to give up. He arranged for an appeal with the department, following the inspection.
He requested an oral appeal, and said he was told from another source within the government that the case had already been predetermined by the department as “unsuccessful”.
According to Ned, the inspector that fined him stood up during the appeal and said that maybe the department should “let the case go”. The department did not.
He said the outcome of the case was in fact, unsuccessful.
“They wanted to bury the case because they knew they were wrong,” he claimed.
“I’d say the problem is too big for them to handle,” Ned added.
Help received
After many more calls to DAFM, Ned received a CD for cross compliance to accompany the regular booklet. It helped him greatly.
At the time the CD was not made accessible to the public. Ned never received a CD for any other rules and regulations.
The department has since made all sections of the cross compliance booklet available in an audio format on its website, however Ned doesn’t know how to access this.
“There’s loads of farmers out there that don’t apply for any schemes at all because they’re so ashamed, and this treatment doesn’t help those people,” Ned said.
Ned did receive some help from Teagasc officers prior to the inspection, but at this point was ashamed to share his literacy challenges.
According to Teagasc, farmers struggling with any learning difficulties or literacy issues would be supported in Teagasc by either the admin staff or by the advisor who can read and write for these farmers.
Teagasc access officer based in Kildalton College, Co. Kilkenny, Mary O’Flaherty told Agriland: “Teagasc would see it as important that all farmers can access their entitlements or schemes and know what they should do to farm well and be safe.”
Ned also received great support from his wife, who he has been married to for 37 years now.
“The system is moving on and we’re all being left behind,” Ned said.
“There’s so many people in the department that won’t help you because they don’t want to open a can of worms. They don’t want to rock the boat,” he added.
Department
In a statement to Agriland, the DAFM said: “This department aims to ensure that the needs of all its customers, including people with literacy issues, are met and that the rights of equal treatment are upheld in the delivery of services.
“We are also keenly aware of the difficulties that some customers have in accessing information and we try to provide any assistance required.
“This assistance takes place across the range of our services whether online, through public events or one on one interaction.”
The DAFM said that it tries to ensure that the language used on its website, in application forms, in supporting documentation and for information campaigns is clear, concise and accurate, and that only necessary detail is provided and requested.
In addition to paying attention to language and documentation, the DAFM said that it has a number of initiatives in place to assist farmers on matters such as inspections, applications and online registrations.
“The minister has appointed two Access Officers and these are responsible for providing or arranging for assistance to persons with disabilities who wish to access any of the services provided by the department,” the statement continued.
“The department does not routinely provide any software or CDs to any customers in terms of addressing supports for illiteracy however, when a customer contacts one of these officers, arrangements are made whereby the relevant division gets in touch with the customer directly, either by phone or in person, to go through the paperwork involved and assist/advise as appropriate.”
The DAFM said that the access officers are experienced members of staff who engage with the National Disability Authority on an ongoing basis and participate in seminars and workshops appropriate to their role.
(Article updated with response from DAFM on 24/07/2023).