The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) has confirmed that staff had to be evacuated from its offices in Co. Wexford last week.
On the morning of Wednesday, July 3 water pipes at the department’s premises at Johnstown Castle burst.
The incident caused significant water damage to certain areas of the building.
“The staff were evacuated and appropriate services notified,” a department spokesperson told Agriland.
Both the department and the Office of Public Works (OPW) are working to address the situation and to have the staff back onsite “as soon as possible”.
“Arrangements are in place for staff to work from home in the interim,” the spokesperson added.
DAFM
In response to a recent parliamentary question, Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Charlie McConalogue confirmed that his department currently employs 4,017 staff.
These staff are employed across a range of disciplines including veterinarians, engineers, scientists, inspectors, and administrators.
He told independent TD for Roscommon-Galway, Michael Fitzmaurice that over the past five years the business needs of DAFM have grown significantly.
“The total number of employees at the end of 2022 was 3,922. This figure rose throughout 2023, culminating in a staffing complement of 4,007 by the end of the year, representing an increase of almost 700 staff members in a five-year period,” the minister said.
McConalogue told the Dáil that the department’s workforce is at an “historic high”.
He confirmed that the DAFM’s payroll budget is just over €250 million per year.
“This finances our salary and allowance costs for the full year of 2024,” he added.