Drop in agriculture department staff

STAFF numbers within the Department of Agriculture and Food are currently on a downward trend.

This is due to the introduction of the Single Payment Scheme (SPS), falling disease levels, the introduction of new computer systems and efficiency gains.

Agriculture Minister Mary Coughlan told the Dáil her department is actively managing the redeployment of staff that became available to other work areas and to other departments. Over 225 staff members have been transferred to other Government departments already this year.