In its 27-year history, the spotlight has rarely shone brighter on Teagasc. Teagasc has been to the forefront of agriculture in Ireland since its inception. It has led the charge in pioneering practises in Irish farming as well as helping to educate new and existing farmers all the while. However, questions remain over its direction.

Over the next five weeks, Jack Kennedy and Patrick Donohoe will examine where Teagasc has come from, who are the people in charge, the impact of funding cuts, the tricky pension problem and where to next for a body which is under severe scrutiny.

The roots of Teagasc can be traced back to 1958 and the establishment of the Agricultural Research Institute or, An Foras Talúntais. This was the first attempt at centralised ag research in Ireland.

In 1980, An Chomhairle Oiliúna Talmhaíochta / The Agricultural Training Council (ACOT) was established, merging the different county agriculture advice services. Then in 1988, the Agricultural Research Institute and ACOT were merged into Teagasc.

Funding

Approximately 70% of Teagasc’s funding is from the Irish State. Successive austerity budgets since 2008 have seen a decrease in funding but, in comparison to other areas of the Department of Agriculture budget, Teagasc has remained relatively unscathed.

In 2009, Teagasc received €145.9m from the State. This fell to €139.4m in 2011 and to €127.9m in 2013 (the most recent Teagasc accounts). It is important to remember that Teagasc received just a 13% funding cut during a time where there were cuts to the Disadvantaged Area Scheme, REPS and others.

In 2013, Teagasc received in the region of €2m in funding from the EU, an operational income (fees, etc) of €28m and “other grants” (private funding, etc) of €3m. The other grants have risen steadily over the past five years as the Government funding fell.

Despite the cuts in State funding, Teagasc’s income has held firm. In 2013, Teagasc’s funding total was over €191m, up from €184m in 2012. In 2011, Teagasc’s total income was €188m. It was €185m in 2010, €195m in 2009 and €212m in 2008. We will examine and analyse Teagasc’s full income expenditure pressures later in the series.

Who runs Teagasc?

Ultimate control with regard to the formation of strategy and policy lies with the board of Teagasc, or, as it is known, the Teagasc Authority.

As outlined opposite, the authority currently has nine members including its chairman, Dr Noel Cawley. There are provisions to have 11 members including the chairman and in February, Teagasc invited invitations from interested bodies for a position on the board.

Four of these members are nominated by industry stakeholders and one by the unions representing staff in Teagasc.

This is currently Joseph Larkin.

Five other members are nominated by the Minister for Agriculture.

Professor Gerry Boyle is in charge of the day-to-day running of Teagasc as well as the implementation of policy. He has been the director of Teagasc since 2007 and was given another three-year term in July 2014.

Appointed in 2007, Professor Boyle has overseen the integration of advisory, education and research functions in Teagasc into an integrated model of research and knowledge transfer. This has resulted in three divisional heads reporting directly to Professor Boyle. These three are: Dr Frank O’Mara, who is the head of research, Dr Tom Kelly in knowledge transfer and Tom Doherty, who heads the operations division.

Power dynamic

The majority of the power lies between the Authority itself, Professor Boyle, Dr O’Mara and Dr Kelly. However, given the vast remit he covers in important areas, Dr Pat Dillon, who is under Dr O’Mara, holds significant influence in Teagasc. Dr Dillon is head of the Animal & Grassland Research and Innovation Programme and his area of work is a broad church of sectors. He essentially looks after research across all animal sectors.

Knowledge transfer, the dissemination of research to farm level, is headed by Dr Kelly with a different divisional head for each sector and Dermot McCarthy acting as his deputy. Dr Tom O’Dwyer looks after dairying, Pearse Kelly is responsible for drystock, Michael Gottstein looks after the sheep sector, Paddy Browne handles crops and Ciaran Carroll heads up the pig division.