There were some interesting figures in the Teagasc 2021 accounts, The Dealer noted.

While much of the media focus has been on the surplus of €9.6m recorded by the State research and advisory body, it is clear that pensions remain a serious financial burden for the organisation.

The cost of servicing the Teagasc pension fund was €33m. This equates to around 18% of the State body’s total overall expenditure.

However, the actual cost of pensions for the 1,751 retired staff was in excess of €46.5m. This is an average annual payment of €26,640 per retiree.

The Dealer’s innate nosiness means that he invariably takes a gawk at the payments to board members.

Interestingly, the Teagasc chair Liam Herlihy secured more than the average retiree in 2021. He was paid €20,520 in fees and a further €8,774 in expenses, or a total of €29,294.

The other Teagasc board members – which include such farm-sector luminaries as IFA’s Brian Rushe, John Buckley of Macra and Liam Woulfe of Grassland Agro – were generally paid €11,970 in fees.

However, Tommy Cooke of ICMSA was paid €8,978 in fees, while Prof Thia Hennessy of UCC, Teagasc staff representative Martina Donnelly and the Department of Agriculture’s Eilís O’Connell were not in receipt of fees.