New Education Facilities at Teagasc Kildalton College Opened

The Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Brendan Smith TD, has officially opened the new €4 million Education Building at Kildalton College, Piltown, Co. Kilkenny, which he described as "a significant step in the development of agricultural education in Ireland and is a clear demonstration of Teagasc's leading role as an education provider to the agriculture and food sector."

Built at a cost of over EUR4m, the new education facility incorporates a lecture theatre, classrooms, laboratories, library and a range of student recreation facilities. Kildalton College has been operating since 1971 and has a long tradition in providing agriculture and horticulture education programmes to the farming community. Over 600 students now attend further education and higher-level education programmes at the College.

Opening the college, the Minister said that "Since its establishment, Kildalton College has played an important role in developing agriculture education in Ireland. The staff at Kildalton deserve great credit for their dedication and hard work over the years. I would like to congratulate Teagasc on the significant achievement in building this new state of the art education facility at Kildalton College. This €4m investment at Kildalton demonstrates Teagasc's continued commitment to providing quality education programmes for new entrants to farming and continuing education for adult farmers and rural dwellers."

Chairman of Teagasc, Dr Noel Cawley said: ”Kildalton college is one of the two leading agriculture colleges in the country, the other being Ballyhaise. The skill levels of Teagasc staff are something we are very proud of. Enthusiastic, high calibre staff, together with state-of-the-art facilities will ensure that students get the best possible education in agriculture and horticulture.“ Dr Cawley acknowledged the importance of government support, and in particular the importance of maintaining support for education.

The Director of Teagasc, Professor Gerry Boyle said: “Since 2006, there has been a 76 per cent increase in agricultural college enrolments. We are delighted with the renewed interest in agriculture and horticulture courses. This year’s enrolments amount to 1,577 and Teagasc now has a total of 3,222 students participating in courses.”

Acknowledging the significant increase in agriculture college enrolments in recent years, the Minister went on to say that in a rapidly changing environment, farm management skills and knowledge can improve the performance of individuals and the industry as a whole.