€25m plan to ramp up dairy output
Eight dairy companies have joined forces with 10 research organisations to form the Dairy Processing Technology Centre, which will be based at the University of Limerick.
A team of 52 dairy industry experts will be based at the DPTC.
Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Industry Richard Bruton said the dairy processing sector continues to ramp up its preparations for the end of milk quotas with the setting up of the DPTC.
“This €25m investment by Government and industry will position Ireland as a world leader in dairy innovation, and help to maximise the long-term growth opportunities created by an anticipated increase of 50% in the Irish milk pool by 2020,” he said.
The DPTC is part of a €35m investment in the dairy sector which was unveiled by Mr Bruton and Minister for Agriculture Simon Coveney.
The announcement was made at Arrabawn Co-Op in Co Tipperary and includes a €10m investment by Teagasc in their Moorepark Technology Ltd pilot plant facility in Co Cork.
Dr Mary Shire, vice-president of the University of Limerick, said: “The DPTC is a collaboration which brings together a spectrum of companies working collaboratively with academics drawn from a wide variety of disciplines. The challenges faced by the dairy industry require an interdisciplinary approach if they are to be solved. The University of Limerick has experience of successfully leading multi- partner interdisciplinary research centres and is delighted to be hosting the DPTC”.
Launching the new centre Mr Bruton said the food sector is a key area that the Government has targeted as part of its Action Plan for Jobs. “This is a sector which offers massive potential for regional employment, which is a major focus of our 2015 plan, and clearly the removal of milk quotas offers huge opportunities that we must exploit in a planned and strategic way in order to support jobs growth. That is why Mr Coveney and I have decided, through our agencies Enterprise Ireland and Teagasc, to make this significant investment in innovation in the dairy industry.”
Dr Keith O’Neill, of Enterprise Ireland, said: “With the anticipated increase of 50% to 2020 in the Irish milk pool, dairy processors need to be supported to deal with the challenges presented, including technological capabilities and human resources capacities, to develop a product mix that can increase dairy exports while maximising the efficiencies of processing operations”
He said Enterprise Ireland’s focus is on increasing exports to create economic growth and the dairy sector, which he said had been under-invested in recent years. “We will use the knowledge, technologies and skills developed through the DPTC to take on competitors worldwide,” he said.
The Dairy Processing Technology Centre consortium includes: Arrabawn Co-op, Aurivo, Carbery, Dairygold, Glanbia, Kerry, Lakeland Dairies and Tipperary Co-Op and research organisations: University of Limerick (Host), Teagasc, UCC, UCD, TCBB at NUIG, DCU, TCD, DIT, ITT & CIT.
