The embargo on public sector recruitment is continuing to cause problems for semi-state body Teagasc - that was the main message from the publication of organisation’s annual report today.
Teagasc staff levels have decreased sharply from 1,600 in 2009 to 1,100 at present.
The organisation has lost a number of key research staff over the past year including former head of food science Paul Ross and fertilizer guru Stan Lalor. Professor Boyle said there was huge competition for senior level scientists and the embargo on promotion meant it was hard to retain staff.
Replacing advisory staff who have retired is also problematic. Professor Boyle said, an an example, if an advisor was to retire in Tipperary on Friday, that would mean that there would be approximately 160 client farmers to be transferred to already over-worked advisors.
Green cert
Professor Boyle said that a 25% Single Farm payment top-up for young farmers if they had an agricultural qualification had tripled demand for places on Teagasc’s Green Cert course. He said they had received over 1,500 applications, but said they was only a “conservative” estimate of demand for the course as they had received a lot more enquiries at the Ploughing Championships from people interested in studying for their Green Cert.
However, Teagasc has gotten the go-ahead to recruit 20 new teachers on contracts to help cope with additional demand.
GLAS
In regards to the new agri-environmental scheme, Professor Boyle said Teagasc estimated that 15,000 of its 40,000 clients will participating in the scheme. To deliver the level of service required for this, Teagasc will be seeking a strategic partner from the private sector and a request for tender will be issued within the next week.
Teagasc continue to operate on a budget of around €160m. Of this €70m is spent on payroll, €50m on non-payroll costs and €41m on pensions.
Other outputs
Key outputs for Teagasc during 2013 included:
3,700 students on coursesOver 800 discussion groups involving 12,500 farmersOver 40,000 client farmers89 research projects completed48 Walsh Fellows completed their PhDs or MastersTwo new potato varieties bred - Bikini and CasinoNew cheeses developed with the Irish Dairy BoardDrainage manual published
The embargo on public sector recruitment is continuing to cause problems for semi-state body Teagasc - that was the main message from the publication of organisation’s annual report today.
Teagasc staff levels have decreased sharply from 1,600 in 2009 to 1,100 at present.
The organisation has lost a number of key research staff over the past year including former head of food science Paul Ross and fertilizer guru Stan Lalor. Professor Boyle said there was huge competition for senior level scientists and the embargo on promotion meant it was hard to retain staff.
Replacing advisory staff who have retired is also problematic. Professor Boyle said, an an example, if an advisor was to retire in Tipperary on Friday, that would mean that there would be approximately 160 client farmers to be transferred to already over-worked advisors.
Green cert
Professor Boyle said that a 25% Single Farm payment top-up for young farmers if they had an agricultural qualification had tripled demand for places on Teagasc’s Green Cert course. He said they had received over 1,500 applications, but said they was only a “conservative” estimate of demand for the course as they had received a lot more enquiries at the Ploughing Championships from people interested in studying for their Green Cert.
However, Teagasc has gotten the go-ahead to recruit 20 new teachers on contracts to help cope with additional demand.
GLAS
In regards to the new agri-environmental scheme, Professor Boyle said Teagasc estimated that 15,000 of its 40,000 clients will participating in the scheme. To deliver the level of service required for this, Teagasc will be seeking a strategic partner from the private sector and a request for tender will be issued within the next week.
Teagasc continue to operate on a budget of around €160m. Of this €70m is spent on payroll, €50m on non-payroll costs and €41m on pensions.
Other outputs
Key outputs for Teagasc during 2013 included:
3,700 students on coursesOver 800 discussion groups involving 12,500 farmersOver 40,000 client farmers89 research projects completed48 Walsh Fellows completed their PhDs or MastersTwo new potato varieties bred - Bikini and CasinoNew cheeses developed with the Irish Dairy BoardDrainage manual published 
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