Gordon Deegan
The number of staff at State agency Teagasc earning more than €100,000 increased by four to 26 people last year.
That is according to the 2017 Teagasc annual report which shows the top earner at Teagasc earned between €150,000 and €160,000 with three other staff earned between €140,000 and €150,000.
The annual report shows four staff earned between €110,000 and €120,000 a year and 18 staff earned between €100,000 and €110,000.
Teagasc is the national body providing integrated research, advice, and training services to the agriculture and food industry and rural communities.
Numbers employed by Teagasc last year increased from 1,198 to 1,217, with staff costs falling from €114.94m to €111.76m. The staff costs include €38.8m in retirement benefits.
Last year, Teagasc’s operating surplus fell by almost 37% from €7.95m to €5m as total income fell from €189.65m to €183.2m.
The agency’s expenditure reduced from €181.7m to €178.19m.
The annual report also discloses that Teagasc last year spent €2.274m on consultancy costs.
Consultancy costs include the cost of external advice to management and exclude outsourced “business-as-usual” functions and include €448,000 on legal advice, €887,000 on architectural and engineering advice, €401,000 on research advice and €345,000 on “other” consultancy costs.
The accounts also disclose that Teagasc paid out €227,000 in settlements of legal cases but no further details are provided. In terms of travel and subsistence expenditure, Teagasc last year paid €4.7m for authority members and staff in Ireland and €770,000 for international subsistence and travel.
