Ireland needs to "face-up" to the "incompatibility" of the high number of cows here and Government commitments on reducing greenhouse gases, the Public Accounts Committee has heard.
Director of Teagasc, Gerry Boyle, told the committee today that this was "definitely a dilemma" for the country.
He said that existing measures aimed at attaining EU targets "would not be sufficient" to off-set the trajectory of greenhouse gases caused by "cow numbers"
Asked by Fine Gael TD Pat Deering if Teagasc was playing "catch-up", Mr Boyle replied "absolutely not" and said "agriculture has been to the fore acknowledging the problem and identifying solutions".
He added, however, that we "can't have enough communication" when it comes to informing farmers about climate change and what to do.
The Director of Teagasc said they hope to spend €12m developing its Johnstown Castle site for labs focused on climate change research and water quality.
Mr Boyle was also asked about a €3m fall in Teagasc's operating surplus as identified in their 2017 accounts.
He said the Department of Agriculture had declined to allow them operate an overdraft facility, and so they were building up a capital reserve.
He said the drop between 2016 and 2017 could be explained by the fact that the "same opportunities" did not present themselves last year as the year before.
