Community Call Initiative Provides Important Platform to Connect Communities with Essential Services

IFA Rural Affairs Chairman Paul O’Brien has welcomed the Government’s announcement today of the Community Call support plan being implemented in each local authority area, to ensure that all vulnerable members of our communities are appropriately supported during this COVID-19 pandemic.

IFA is one of the partner organisations of this initiative in each county, which is designed to support all those in our community, particularly those who are ‘cocooning’.

He said, “Our 29 County Executives, 940 branches and 70,000 members are in every parish in the country. Each local authority has introduced a dedicated support. helpline Our members are embedded in the community. We are working with the other partners in this initiative to ensure that anyone who needs help gets it,” he said.

“Our county and branch network is also keeping in close contact with our members to try and make sure they don’t feel isolated at this time,” he said.

Paul O’Brien has also reminded farmers to ensure they have completed their ‘Plan B’ document, which they can hand over to someone to step-in and help with the running of the farm, if they have to self-isolate or fall ill because of COVID-19.

The ‘Plan B’ document is available to download from IFA’s COVID-19 web hub on ifa.ie/COVID19, which provides information on:

• Government unemployment and illness schemes
• Health and safety
• Banking & taxation
• Issues posed by restrictions
• Farms with employees

He has encouraged all farm families to continue to support the national effort to tackle the pandemic and to keep connected by phone and on-line with IFA and their wider community.