asked the Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries if he will state the division of responsibility between research activities in the cereals sector carried out by his Department and an Foras Talúntais; and if he is satisfied that there is adequate co-ordination and avoidance of duplication.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Cereal Research.
55.
My Department is responsible for the breeding of wheat, oats and feed barley, the testing of native and imported varieties of cereals and the production of foundation seed for the cereal certification scheme operated by the Department. It is responsible, in collaboration with Messrs. Guinness, for the breeding and testing of varieties of malting barley and the production of nucleus seed of the varieties of malting barley in commercial use.
The research programme of An Foras Talúntais is mainly concerned with the effects of environment, fertiliser treatment, cultural practices and disease on the yield and quality of cereals.
The cereals research work of my Department and the institute is coordinated through a liaison committee and I am satisfied that there is no unnecessary duplication of effort.
Would the Minister not consider that it would be more rational to have all cereals under one authority and that a liaison committee which has to deal with so many other matters might not be as effective as would be the case if there was only one authority dealing with the whole question of cereals?
It is a matter of opinion mainly but I think the record of the Department of Agriculture's cereals section is very good indeed in the past decade or so. As most farmers know, they have produced some varieties of cereals which have turned out to be eminently satisfactory and have been very profitable for farmers. The cereals section deal with the breeding of cereals, whereas research into environmental conditions, fertilisers and things of that nature are handled by the institute. It is an arrangement which is working very well.