Dairy Expansion Activation Group Members Announced

Business & Finance - Farming & Fisheries

Friday, 15 October 2010 15:58

Written by Mike Fanning

The Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Brendan Smith TD, today said that the seven members joining the Chairman Dr Sean Brady on the Dairy Expansion Activation Group will play a key role in the move to implement the expansion in milk production envisaged in the Food Harvest 2020 report. 

The Group will be comprised of dairy farmers, processors and Teagasc, as follows:

William Keane,  Dairy Farmer,  Ardmore,  Co. Waterford
Padraig McCarthy,  Dairy Farmer,  Lixnaw,  Co. Kerry
Thomas Joe Tuffy,  Dairy Farmer,  Enniscrone,  Co. Sligo
Jim Bergin,  CEO,  Glanbia Food Ingredients Ireland
Michael Hanley,  CEO,  Lakeland Dairies Co-operative Society Ltd
Jim Woulfe,  CEO,  Dairygold Co-operative Society Ltd.
Dr. Pat Dillon,  Head of Centre,  Teagasc Moorepark

The Minister indicated that the Group will have the freedom to identify what it considers to be the most appropriate ‘next steps’ and will address in practical terms the implementation of the recommendations in the report.

He has asked Dr. Brady to submit an initial ‘road map’ to the High Level Implementation Group, which the Minister chairs, by the end of November. This will highlight key milestones, and identify obstacles to implementation and how these should be overcome, from both a production and a processing perspective.