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The number of cases referred to the Department of Agriculture by the Ombudsman increased by 76% last year, according to the Department’s 2020 annual report.
The report stated that the Department responded to 74 cases in 2020, an increase of 32 on the year previous.
According to the Department, a total of 27 of these cases related to changes in the designation of Area of Natural Constraint (ANC) eligibility status to lands.
Scheme appeals
The Agriculture Appeals Office received 760 appeals relating to farmer dissatisfaction with the Department’s decisions on agricultural support schemes.
This was an increase of 33% on the number of appeals made in 2019.
A total of 358 appeal cases were closed in 2020, with this number including appeals outstanding from previous years.
The proportion of closed cases which granted an allowance or partial allowance farmers’ appeals dropped from 44% in 2019 to 39% last year.
Of the 358 closed appeal cases:
Customer service
The Department’s Quality Service Unit, which deals with customer service complaints, received 75 complaint submissions in 2020 - an increase of 60 on 2019.
The report noted, however, that 51 of these complaints were made by a single individual.
Access to information
Some 142 Environmental Information Requests were made to the Department in 2020. This was a 106% increase on the 69 requests of the same nature made in 2019.
The number of freedom of information (FOI) requests received by the Department remained unchanged year-on-year at 381.
Department administration
The total spend of the Department on administration rose by over €5.8m in 2020 when compared with 2019.
The €9.9m in savings reported in the Department’s reduction in office premise expenses has appeared to have been offset by a €12.5m rise in officials’ salaries, wages and allowances.
The report can be found in full here.
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