Mr. Seamus McCarthy:

The Agriculture and Food Development Authority of Ireland, better known as Teagasc, was established in 1988. Its primary function is to provide education, training, advisory and research services to the agriculture and food industries and to rural communities.

The Teagasc financial statements before the committee this morning relate to 2017. They are consolidated statements incorporating the results of the Teagasc subsidiary Moorepark Technology Limited, in which the authority has a majority shareholding. The financial statements record total income of €183 million. Over three quarters of Teagasc's income is accounted for by direct Oireachtas grants. The bulk of the remainder comprises advisory service and course fee income, research grants and commissions, and trading income from Teagasc's own farming operations, including the sale of livestock.

The authority's expenditure for 2017 totalled €178 million, and is detailed in notes 7 and 8 to the financial statements. As the figure in the presentation indicates, pay, pensions and other staff costs accounted for two thirds of the expenditure. Other expenditure related to Teagasc's operations, including depreciation, amounted to €50 million or 28% of the total. Grants of various kinds accounted for €10.2 million, or 6%. The operating surplus for the year was just over €5 million.

I issued a clear audit opinion in respect of the financial statements for 2017. However, I drew attention to the disclosure in the statement on internal control regarding expenditure in 2017 of €1.35 million where the procurement procedures employed did not comply with public procurement guidelines.

Members may wish to note the presentation with the financial statements of a governance statement and authority members' report. Presentation of a report of this kind is a requirement from 2017 for all State bodies operating under the code of practice for the governance of State bodies issued by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform. As well as describing the governance structures in place in Teagasc, the governance statement includes additional information about expenditure on consultancy and legal services, travel and subsistence costs incurred, and spending on staff and corporate hospitality.