Teagasc has achieved a great deal on behalf of Irish Agriculture and food in improving farm incomes, educating and training students and adult farmers, conducting public good research and development and encouraging the adoption of new technology and practices on Irish farms. Their services in research, education and advisory play a key role on the ongoing development and modernisation of Irish agriculture, helping to improve its competitiveness and to enable the sector take advantage of the many opportunities that exist in global markets. The industry continues to require a strong input from Teagasc in assisting the development of farm enterprises and providing direction to those involved in agriculture and food.
Teagasc receive an annual grant in aid allocation from my Department towards the costs of delivering various services to the agriculture sector. This year’s allocation is almost €122m. Because Teagasc operates as a separate entity under the auspices of my Department, it is a matter for Teagasc and its Board to prioritise activities in the delivery of services and to allocate resources in accordance with these priorities.
Under Teagasc’s Rationalisation Programme 2009-2013, it was decided to consolidate Teagasc research activities in the Dublin area at one location, Teagasc’s Ashtown Food Centre. As part of this process, the horticulture research and knowledge transfer activities at Kinsealy are being located in new facilities in Ashtown.
In addition, to complement its horticultural research activities, Teagasc has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with the Horticulture Development Company, UK. This Memorandum of Understanding is operating to the benefit of both organisations since 2011. Teagasc currently has a number of post-graduate students involved in horticultural research projects that are jointly funded by Teagasc and the Horticulture Development Company.
Teagasc has a number of specific research programmes in the crops area particularly related to cereals and potatoes. These are carried out at its research Facilities in Oakpark County Carlow. In addition to this, significant research is also carried out on foliage plants, mushrooms and fruit at is facilities in Kinsealy and Ashtown and other locations.
My Department has been in contact with the Plant & Agri-biosciences Centre of the National University of Galway (NUIG) who have confirmed that there are unaware of any EU funded rating survey conducted in NUI Galway, as suggested in this question.
That said we should not necessarily be surprised if plant science in Romania should have more researchers and resources devoted to it than in Ireland. Romania, which is a country of over 20 million and a land area which is almost 3 times the size of Ireland. Due to its location and climatic conditions, it produces a wide range of horticultural crops and is in the top 10 wine producing countries in the world.
