NEWS

Dard cuts to hit frontline services
By Steven Moore

Farmers may be asked to pay for fallen animals from November as DARD wrestles with what one top civil servant described as the "most constrained financial situation" in a decade.
Under Secretary Gerry Lavery told the Stormont Agricultural Committee that frontline services to farmers would inevitably suffer as it tightened its belt ever more.
The department was already implementing three per cent efficiency savings but, as press reports indicated with suggestions of a £200m cut in budgets and £170m shortfall in capital expenditure throughout government, was likely to be pressed for even more.
In addition, he held out little prospect of securing the £5.5 million applied for under the September Monitoring Round - with that money having to be found elsewhere if unsuccessful.
Mr Lavery said he anticipated a "very sharp" reduction in the department's budget in the next 18 months to two years and had to plan for that.
The Department of Agriculture is already endeavouring to save three per cent a year - with £6 million less spent last year and targets of £12m and £18m for the current year and next year respectively.
This was being achieved in 12 target areas, including a reduction of 40 staff in rural development (with responsibility being passed to local government), increased profits by the Forestry Service and reducing the amount spent on AFBI, food strategy and laboratory work.
A reduction in the incidence of Bovine TB and brucellosis was also helping balance the books, the committee was told.

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October 2nd 2009
September 25th 2009