As part of Project Ireland 2040, the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Michael Creed, T.D., today launched a Plan for the Development of the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine’s Regional Laboratories, announcing an estimated capital investment of €33.5 million in rebuilding the Laboratory Network over the next 10 years.
Minister Creed stated:
Publication of this plan shows my Department’s commitment to achieving scientific excellence and to further developing capability and expertise across all laboratory areas. The second phase of laboratories development which I am announcing today gives effect to our commitment to enhance the diagnostic services provided by our regional laboratories to the farming community and to make that service more accessible to farmers throughout the country.
The Ten-Year Plan has been informed by the findings of a cost-benefit analysis and by extensive consultation with stakeholders. Ease of access to laboratory services is one of the key concerns of the farming community. On completion of this plan in 2028, 98% of registered herd owners will be within a one-hour drive of one of four regional laboratories or one of five carcase transfer centres that will be established in the border counties and along the Western seaboard.
The investment in the Regional Laboratory Network will progress in five incremental stages over the next decade, commencing with the establishment of a helpline and the first two carcase transfer centres before the end of 2020. This will be followed sequentially by the replacement of existing facilities in Kilkenny and Sligo plus the establishment of enlarged laboratories in Co Cork and in Athlone. Along with significant capital investments at each location¸ the Department will invest in teams of people with the skills and expertise needed to provide a world class diagnostic service - developing centres of excellence in the investigation of and surveillance for diseases in farmed animals.
Minister Creed stated:
The publication of this Plan also affords me the opportunity to acknowledge and to highlight the actions that are already underway, and some of which have been completed, to improve upon the scientific capability and operational efficiency of our laboratories in Backweston and Cork. Our staff articulated a vision for the laboratories to be scientifically excellent and are following through on that commitment by the actions they are currently implementing.
In Backweston, the Department is reshaping how it delivers food safety-related laboratory services - bringing together all of the Department’s existing capability and expertise into two large multidisciplinary teams to assess and advise on each of the two major areas of risk to the food chain, associated with microbial hazards and chemical hazards, respectively. In addition, the Department is reorganising how it provides the essential supports, such as quality management and IT support, which underpin laboratory science.
Two laboratories (the Blood Testing Laboratory and the Dairy Science Laboratory) in Cork have been successfully merged into one entity that is now delivering a broad range of laboratory analyses to support the animal health, plant health and food safety related work of the Department.
A phased, project management approach is being taken to the design and implementation of this ambitious action plan to ensure its successful delivery, while all of the laboratories continue to deliver a quality service to their clients.
Minister Creed concluded:
this plan for the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine’s Laboratories is the result of senior officials working with the relevant stakeholders (internal and external) to realise an ambition for the Department’s laboratories to be recognised as centres of excellence at home and abroad. This investment in the regional laboratories will assist the agri-food sector in ensuring sustainable food production - safeguarding the food-chain and substantiating our favourable animal and plant health status while achieving the ambitious growth targets outlined in Food Wise 2025. Department officials will be engaging with both internal and external stakeholders over the Autumn period.