The Teagasc Authority, which is responsible for the good governance of the state agency, has been advised to consider gender balance requirements when replacements are being nominated for its board next year.
According to the Teagasc Annual Report and 2021 Financial Statements published on Tuesday (October 4), there were six men and four women sitting on the authority on December 31, 2021.
The report noted at that time there was one vacant position on the 11-member board.
This resulted in a gender balance on the board of 64% men and 36% women.
It means that the authority does not meet the government target of a minimum of 40% representation of each gender in the membership of state boards.
The Teagasc report noted that a number of authority members are due to retire by rotation in 2023.
“The Authority has been advised to have consideration for the code of practice for the governance of state bodies on gender balance and diversity requirements when nominating replacement members,” it said.
The Teagasc Authority consists of a chairperson and ten ordinary members, all of which are appointed by the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine.
The authority includes representatives from the farming organisations, the food industry, universities, officials from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) and Teagasc staff.
The authority also has five committees which include: Advisory and education; audit and risk; nominations; operations; and research.
The members of the board are typically appointed for a period of five years and may then be re-appointed for a second term.
The latest consolidated financial statements detail attendances at the authority and committee meetings for 2021 and includes the fees and expenses received by each member of the board.
The statements show that the total fees paid to Teagasc Authority members stood at €101,318 last year, in addition there were expenses of €16,275, over half of which were claimed by chair of the authority, Liam Herlihy.
Teagasc also incurred hospitality and accommodation expenses of €7,704 on behalf of authority members in 2021.
Three authority members did not receive a fee under the One Person One Salary (OPOS) principle.
In February, Minister Charlie McConalogue filled the vacancy on the board when he appointed Donald Scully, a member of the executive committee of the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers’ Association (ICMSA).
The dairy farmer from Co. Laois will sit on the board for five years.