Agriculture Committee to Appeal to Ministers for no Further Reduction in Teagasc Advisors

A further drop in the number of advisors employed by Teagasc is not sustainable, the Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Fisheries and Food has claimed today.

At a meeting with Teagasc, the Committee heard of the significant reduction in the number of permanent advisors employed by the agency. According to Tagasc Director, Prof Gerry Boyle, at the end of 2008 Teagasc had 340 permanent advisors and 65 fully-funded contract advisors. However, since then the agency has lost 69 permanent advisors and another 65 contract staff. The moratorium on public recruitment has meant these vacancies have not been filled.

In addition to this, Prof Boyle estimated that based on retirements by the end of 2014 the number of advisors will fall to 237 and could be as low as 200 if there is a succession of earlier retirements.

Based on this prospect the Committee agreed to contact the Ministers of Agriculture and Finance to urge that advisor numbers do not go beyond a certain threshold.

Committee Chairman, Johnny Brady TD said;
“Committee members were alarmed by the figures which were revealed at today’s meeting. We feel that if advisor numbers fall to the possible levels suggested by Prof Boyle the vital service they offer will be untenable.

For this reason, the Committee has resolved to contact both the Minsters for Agriculture and Finance to urge that numbers of Teagasc staff is not let go below a certain level. It might have to be the case that numbers reach a certain level but are not permitted to go any lower than that. The Committee believes that it would simply not be viable for the amount of advisors to fall to as low as 200.”

Teagasc – the Agriculture and Food Development Authority – is the national body providing integrated research, advisory and training services to the agriculture and food industry and rural communities.

ENDS

For further information
Contact

Daniel English
Oireachtas Communications Unit
01 618 4484
087 6944926

Full committee membership:
Johnny Brady, TD, Fianna Fáil (Chairman)
Thomas McEllistrim, TD, Fianna Fáil, (Vice Chairman)
Mattie McGrath, TD (Fianna Fáil)
Christy O'Sullivan, TD (Fianna Fáil)
Bobby Alyward, TD (Fianna Fáil)
Noel Coonan, TD (Fine Gael)
Martin Ferris, TD (Sinn Féin)
Eamon Scanlon, TD (Fianna Fáil)
Tom Sheahan, TD (Fine Gael)
Shane McEntee, TD (Fine Gael)
Seán Sherlock, TD (Labour Party)
Ned O'Keeffe, TD (Fianna Fáil)
Senator Paul Bradford, (Fine Gael)
Senator John Carty, (Fianna Fáil)
Senator Michael McCarthy, (Labour Party)
Senator Francis O’Brien (Fianna Fáil)