Danny Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent)
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247. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the action being taken to deal with the backlog of 3,600 young farmers who are seeking places in agricultural colleges to obtain green certificate qualifications; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7478/17]

Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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My Department is working closely with Teagasc to address staffing issues in relation to delivering the adult Green Cert. In conjunction with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, Teagasc was approved to appoint 70 temporary education officers in the period 2014 and 2016 in order to rapidly expand the number of places. 7 temporary administrators were also approved to address the huge volume of course administration that arose from the unprecedented Green cert demand. The staffing arrangements implemented to date helped Teagasc enrol 4,500 learners since 2014. 

As Teagasc continue to experience strong demand for the Green Cert, I understand that they are actively considering a range of resource options to address projected demand on a phased basis from 2017 to 2019. I am pleased to confirm that Teagasc’s request for 15 new temporary posts to meet acute demand pressure points in some geographical locations was recently approved. Assignment of those posts to particular locations is an operational matter for Teagasc.