In another week of moving and shaking, Dr Kevin Hanrahan has been appointed as Teagasc’s head of its Rural Economy and Development Programme.

Hanrahan is taking o ver from Cathal O’Donoghue, who upped sticks and joined the National University of Ireland in Galway.

Hanrahan will be based in Teagasc, Athenry, and will head up research on rural development, including all knowledge transfer.

Dr Hanrahan is currently the acting head of the agricultural economics and farm surveys department in Teagasc.