Professor Gerry Boyle:

In my own case, I was recently on a visit to Colombia at the invitation of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. On foot of the President's visit there last year, it was felt that Teagasc might be able to advise on how farmers could be helped to transition from the FARC-dominated violence in some of the regions. Many of the other trips are directly related to research. Teagasc is involved in research all over the world, but substantially in Europe. We are also involved in joint research projects. For example, we might win a project from the European Union in respect of which there would be partners in other countries and we would have to meet up them, or meet in Brussels. A lot of our activity is increasingly international, which is another factor in terms of cost. I assure the Deputy that every item of expenditure is rigorously assessed. When an increase arises, the audit committee reviews the reasons for it.