New State of the Art Facilities Opened at Ballyhaise College

Friday 14 May 2004

A new teaching block at Ballyhaise College, Co Cavan was officially opened by the Minister for Agriculture and Food, Joe Walsh.

The new facility is part of a major upgrading programme undertaken by Teagasc in agriculture and horticulture colleges. During the past three years a total of €15m has been invested in six agriculture and three horticulture colleges.

The Ballyhaise development which cost €3m, includes state of the art lecture theatres, the latest IT equipment and new animal housing and milking facilities. Teagasc Chairman, Dr Tom O’Dwyer, said it will ensure that participants in Teagasc training at Ballyhaise College will have facilities and equipment on a par with the best available internationally.

“Ballyhaise provides vocational courses in agriculture and is the only college in the country providing specialised training for young people embarking on careers in forestry. Both the agriculture and forestry courses are nationally accredited by the Further Education and Training Awards Council (FETAC). Graduates of these courses have the opportunity to progress right up to degree level.”

“The college is also combining with Dundalk Institute of Technology in providing a third level agriculture course for young people entering the industry. This course is accredited by the Higher Education and Training Awards Council (HETAC) with applications through the Central Applications Office (CAO),” said Dr O’Dwyer.

Dr O’Dwyer said that Ballyhaise College is also a highly important regional dairy research facility for Teagasc. He said the new facilities, including a modern milking parlour, will further enhance the research capability at the college.

“The dairy research programme at Ballyhaise is an integral part of our national dairy research programme operated from Moorepark in Co. Cork. A particular focus of the Ballyhaise programme is the development of blueprints for low cost grass-based milk production to suit the farming conditions in the region” said Dr O’Dwyer.

Following the official opening of the new teaching block, the Minister for Agriculture and Food presented certificates to graduates of Teagasc training programmes in agriculture and forestry. They completed courses at Ballyhaise and also at the Teagasc training centre at Bailieboro.