The severe understaffing at the Department of Agriculture’s help desk, which is struggling to handle huge volumes of queries on schemes like ACRES and TAMS is not acceptable, according to a Mayo councillor.
Ballyhaunis based Fine Gael councillor Alma Gallagher says with only five staff members available to manage an increasing volume of queries at the Dept’s helpdesk, “the situation has reached a critical point, leaving both the staff and farmers frustrated and exhausted”.
In addition to ACRES and TAMS, the help desk staff are also responsible for managing calls related to forestry applications and licenses.
She insists that farmers deserve timely, clear, and accurate information, but the current situation makes this more difficult
The councillor is calling on the Department of Agriculture and Minister McConalogue to take immediate action by allocating more resources and personnel to the help desk.
She has been speaking to Midwest News Editor Teresa O’Malley…
