DARD Direct: Lagan Valley

Agriculture and Rural Development – in the Northern Ireland Assembly at 3:00 pm on 12 January 2009.

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Photo of Edwin Poots Edwin Poots DUP 3:00, 12 January 2009

4. asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development what consideration is being given to cover the Lagan Valley area with a DARD Direct office.  (AQO 1754/09)

Photo of Michelle Gildernew Michelle Gildernew Sinn Féin

Go raibh maith agat, a LeasCheann Comhairle. We are flying through the questions today. As the Member is aware, DARD customers in Lagan Valley access various DARD services from several locations. Most Lagan Valley customers fall into the Larne and Newtownards divisional veterinary office (DVO) catchments, but a small proportion fall into the Newry and Armagh DVO catchments.

Customers who require face-to-face access to veterinary services must travel to their appointed DVO to carry out some transactions. However, those customers — depending on which county they live in — have to go to Ballymena or Downpatrick to receive grant and subsidy assistance. There is a small DARD office in Lisburn, but its main purpose is to accommodate staff from a limited number of DARD branches who work in the area. The office is opened to the public for a half a day only on a limited service, and it is fairly inaccessible.

To illustrate those examples, Members should be aware that for 90% of a normal working week a Lagan Valley constituent farmer from Glenavy must go to Larne for veterinary transactions and to Ballymena for advice on grants and subsidies, and a constituent farmer from Ballynahinch must go to Newtownards for veterinary services and to Downpatrick for advice on grants and subsidies.

The DARD Direct proposal replaces that variable approach with a series of one-stop shops that will provide office access to all farmer-focus services five days a week. We arrived at our proposed locations for DARD Direct offices after considering the recommendations arising from the equality impact assessment and the public consultation exercises.

The Lagan Valley area will be covered from the proposed locations of Newtownards and Downpatrick in the east and south-east, Newry in the south, Armagh in the south-west and Antrim in the north. The two farmers to whom I referred will be able to carry out all their transactions from the location that is most convenient for them.

During the stages of pre-consultation and public consultation, bodies representing the industry identified an improved quality of service provision as much more important than the location of the office.

Photo of Edwin Poots Edwin Poots DUP 3:15, 12 January 2009

Does the Minister recognise that, when circles are drawn around the offices denoting the 25-kilometre zone, Lagan Valley is the only constituency in Northern Ireland that is wholly excluded? Just because Lagan Valley previously received a poor service does not mean that the Minister should continue that discrimination against the 1,000 farming families in that constituency.

Photo of Michelle Gildernew Michelle Gildernew Sinn Féin

I have already outlined the complicated service provision that is currently available to farmers in the Lagan Valley constituency, which, I hope that the Member will agree, is less than ideal. The DARD Direct proposals replace that variable approach with one-stop shops providing office access to all farmer-focused services five days a week.

The pilot project, which was based at Inniskeen House in Enniskillen, proved that farmers are happy with the level of service. They do not mind travelling a wee bit further in the knowledge that they will receive a one-stop-shop service that covers all their needs. Farmers can avail themselves of a range of services in one visit, and their feedback on the model has been positive. I hope that farmers in Lagan Valley will be equally impressed by the better service that will be delivered there and in all 18 constituencies.

Photo of Francie Molloy Francie Molloy Sinn Féin

Will the Minister outline the main issues that have arisen from the public consultation so far?

Photo of Michelle Gildernew Michelle Gildernew Sinn Féin

The consensus of those who responded was that they were supportive of the concept of DARD Direct. One of the main issues raised was accessibility for customers and staff. People wanted to know that they will be able to park at the offices. As the Member knows, there are parking difficulties for farmers at the current location in, for example, Dungannon. Farmers sometimes need parking space for a Land Rover and trailer rather than a car, and proper access for such vehicles is required. Sixteen miles is a reasonable distance to travel, and offices should be easily accessible and also cater for disabled customers and staff. The office must be designed to suit customers, staff, disabled people and children, and public transport links should be taken into consideration when identifying office locations.

A second issue raised was the flexibility of service delivery. People welcome offices being open from 9.00 am to 5.00 pm, but sometimes they need out-of-hours services. The new concept makes it easier for the Department to deliver those services as required. Alternative channels of service delivery must be well promoted, and appropriate training could increase the uptake of online services.

The importance of maintaining good relationships between customers and staff and focusing on a high quality of service delivery was highlighted. The Department also felt that it had to take cognisance of disruption to staff, and the potential impact of relocation to new offices will be greater for non-mobile grades.

Those were the headline issues to emerge from the consultation, and I will take all of them into account in formulating a final proposal.

Photo of Ken Robinson Ken Robinson UUP

Does the Minister accept that large sections of the Larne area and its hinterland are more than what her Department describes as a “reasonable distance” from the nearest DARD Direct office? Under the current proposals, is a DARD Direct office in Larne not a necessity?

Photo of Michelle Gildernew Michelle Gildernew Sinn Féin

I have not yet made a final decision on the location and number of offices. I will do so after I have fully considered the EQIA, the views expressed at the meeting of the Committee on 2 December 2008 and the various correspondence that I have received to date. In implementing DARD Direct, I am seeking to deliver an improved and value-for-money service, and I am conscious that additional offices will incur additional expense.

Photo of William Hay William Hay Speaker

Question 5 has been withdrawn, and question 6 was combined with question 3. I apologise to Mr Bradley for my earlier mistake.