Overhaul of Fallen Animal Collection System Long Overdue – IFA

IFA Animal Health Chair David Hall said farmers money is not on table for the Department of Agriculture to resolve the dispute with Fallen Animal Collectors.

David Hall was commenting following a meeting with the Department of Agriculture yesterday where IFA set out clearly yet again the failures in the current Fallen Animal Collection scheme for farmers.

He said IFA made it crystal clear at the meeting that the current caps on the various categories of animals that are supposed to be the maximum collectors can charge when they claim state subvention for the service must not be increased.

Outline of maximum fees farmers can be charged by Fallen Animal Collectors:

Category	Age	Max Collection Fee
Bovines	48+ months	€54.03
	24-48 months	€100
	12-24 months	€80
	6-12 months	€50
	3-6 months	€35
	0-3 months	€30
Sheep	–	€30

David Hall said IFA have consistently over the years highlighted to the Department that a number of collectors freely charge in excess of these caps while claiming the state subvention with no evidence of any oversight or enforcement by the Department of Agriculture on these collectors.

He said yet again farmers are effectively being used as pawns by the Fallen Animal Collectors in their dispute with the Department, powers that the department due to the structure of the current system have given the collectors.

He said this is not the first time farmers are faced with this and it is unacceptable that the Minister for Agriculture Martin Heydon and his officials allow this continue year in year out.

IFA have long since called for a complete overhaul of the Fallen Animal Collection and disposal system in this country that provides farmers with a guaranteed collection system at competitive rates.

David Hall said stop gap measures by the Minister that involve offering the fallen animal collectors farmers money through increases in the caps in the current scheme are not acceptable, the scheme once and for all must be completely overhauled and a more efficient system put in place.

The IFA Animal Health Chair said it is up to the Minister for Agriculture and his officials to ensure in the event this dispute continues that measures are in place to protect farmers from any actions, all animals must be collected in a timely manner from farms and the on-farm deaths must be recorded in a timely manner on the AIMS database.