A TD has called for the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) to produce “practical outcomes” from its share of the government’s budget for research and development.
Independent TD for Laois-Offaly, Carol Nolan was responding to an announcement from the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Simon Harris today (January 16, 2024) that, across all government departments, €963.7 million was allocated for research and development in 2022.
The minister said that the final figure for 2023 is expected to be in excess of €1 billion (the first time the whole-government budget for this purpose will surpass that figure).
Of the total budget for 2022, DAFM received €96.6 million, about 10% of the total, and the third highest figure for any department (after Minister Harris’ own department, and the Department for Enterprise, Trade and Employment).
DAFM received more funding in 2022 than the Department of Health (€56.7 million, or 6%), and the Department of Environment, Climate and Communications (€28.9 million, or 3%).
Commenting on Minister Harris’ announcement, Nolan said: “I certainly welcome the confirmation provided by Minister Harris that research and development in the [agriculture] space is thriving.
“Ireland is a world class leader in quality food production and farming methodology, and anything that continues to support the preservation and strengthening of excellence in this area has to be welcomed,” she added.
“I know that last year, Minister for State (at DAFM) with responsibility for research and development Martin Heydon announced funding of 20 research grants worth just over €24 million, and these included issues like ash dieback and forestry, as well as farmer mental health.”
Nolan said: “It is vitally important that research and development in these areas leads to practical and positive outcomes because clearly those three areas alone require constant attention and support if we are to make the kind of progress that is urgently required.”
However, Nolan warned against directing research and development funding towards what she called “pet projects”.
“Research and development budgets should not be about favouring pet projects with little or no benefit at the other side,” she said.