A RADICAL overhaul of the Department of Agriculture and its policies was signalled yesterday by the Taoiseach-elect, Mr Bertie Ahern, when he officially opened the Agriculture `97 event in Co Cavan.
Mr Ahern promised to establish a statutory independent Food Quality Authority to guarantee the safety and quality of food, removing the responsibility from the Department of Agriculture.
He said the new board will take over all functions related to the regulation of the food industry, animal and plant health, approval of drugs and chemicals for use in food production, implementation of safety assurance schemes at farm and factory level and other related areas.
Mr Ahern added that as farmers have a right to prompt delivery of payments and services, the incoming Government will establish an autonomous agency to administer FEOGA (the European agriculture fund) and other payments.
"By devolving the on-line functions of the Department of Agriculture and Forestry, I intend to re-focus the Department on its core function of policy making," said Mr Ahern.
He said that while the new Food Quality Authority would add a new layer of bureaucracy, it would assume responsibility for staff and other resources currently scattered among the different departments and agencies, principally Agriculture, Food, Health and local authorities.
Asked if what he was proposing was a break up of the Department of Agriculture, Mr Ahern replied that it was not. He said it was a "restructuring and re-focus of the Department in line with policy statements already made over the past few years".
Mr Ahern said the further viability of tens of thousands of smaller farmers was being undermined by the present system of income support. Despite the very large sums of money being paid out, many farm families did not have viable incomes. "My Government will reform the existing direct payments scheme. This will ensure a more equitable distribution of support payments and enhance viability in thousands of threatened farm families," he said.
His incoming Government was committed to ensuring a more equitable system of payments to farmers. "There is a perception in the country that all farmers are receiving massive sums. They take the total number of farmers and divide it into the amount of money and they come up with figures which give a totally false view.
"The whole basis of our farm family policy is to recreate a viability in rural Ireland, an innovative kind of culture where people can in confidence stay there," he said.