Teagasc has appointed its new director in the form of Professor Frank O’Mara, Agriland understands.
According to senior sources within the authority, Prof. O’Mara – who has up until now served as Teagasc director of research – will take over the reins from outgoing director of Teagasc Prof. Gerry Boyle, who steps away following 14 years at the helm.
O’Mara takes the reins
Prof. O’Mara currently also holds the title of president of the EU Animal Task Force (ATF), a European public-private partnership concerned with the role of sustainable and competitive livestock production within the food system.
He also previously worked as a lecturer at University College Dublin (UCD).
The move will be subject to approval from Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Charlie McConalogue.
Meanwhile, it has also been confirmed that Anne Marie Butler is to be the new Teagasc head of education, replacing Tony Pettit, who is also set to retire.
Butler – who is the current president of the Agricultural Science Association (ASA) – has up until now worked as head of agriculture at Ulster Bank.
Boyle to retire
Back in April, it was announced that Prof. Gerry Boyle, who has led the organisation since October 2007, will retire as director in September. His initial seven-year contract had been extended on two occasions.
During Prof. Boyle’s period at the helm, Teagasc experienced many changes from the moratorium on recruitment and wage cuts in the wake of the 2009 recession, to the current coronavirus pandemic.
As director, Gerry Boyle received many personal accolades, most notably, the bestowal of the Academic Palm by the Government of France in 2017 and the conferring of an honorary degree in science by University College Cork (UCC) in 2019.
He was also elected president of Euragri in 2018, which is the EU network for public agri-food research and innovation organisations. For the last five years he has served as an ex officio member of the Climate Change Advisory Council (CCAC).