The board of Teagasc, the agriculture and food development authority, will meet in a fortnight to examine a cost-cutting plan which could see the closure of three more of its research centres.
The plan, which was drawn up to save €6 million, was presented to the board yesterday when it held its monthly meeting.
Already, Teagasc has decided to sell off its Sandymount headquarters and two other of its centres, the Clonroche research station and the Lullymore centre, Co Kildare.
The board, which expects to raise at least €10 million from the sale of its headquarters, intends to lease the building for two years while the 100 headquarters staff take up relocation offers.
Most of them will go to the Oak Park research centre outside Carlow, with the exception of the rural economics section, which will be relocated at Athenry College, Co Galway.
It had been expected that the board would announce the closure and sale of at least four more centres when it met yesterday to discuss the €15 million shortfall caused by Government cutbacks.
However, the members were given a document drawn up by management to cut €6 million of current spending by the 1,600 staff this year.
According to board sources, the plan proposed substantial curbs on travel and subsistence allowances and a plan to relocate some of the county offices in the research stations which will remain open.
The plan seeks to close down 25 per cent of the organisation's county offices and to relocate the staff.
It has also been proposed that the organisation charge its farmer-clients more for the advice it gives to develop farms. This proposal is bound to meet stiff opposition from the main farm organisations.
The board did not discuss yesterday the proposed closure and sale of the organic centre at Athenry, Co Galway, which is being opposed by organic farmers and local politicians.
The organic training centre was set up only two years ago with the closure of Mellows College, Athenry, where conventional farming practices were taught, and it will be summer before the farm there is fully converted to organic production.
Also being targeted for closure are three other research stations, Ballinamore, Co Leitrim, Kilmaley, Co Clare, and the Kinsealy centre, in north Co Dublin.
Earlier this month, the chairman of Teagasc, Dr Tom O'Dwyer, met the Minister for Agriculture, Mr Walsh, to brief him on the progress being made in getting the Teagasc finances in order and to inform him of the intention to sell off some of the property.
The president of the Irish Farmers' Association, Mr John Dillon, last night condemned what he called the "Government's continuous undermining of Teagasc".
In a statement issued after the meeting, he said research, education and training were a priority for this Government in all sectors except agriculture.
Mr Dillon said when the Government decided to cut investment in agricultural research training and the advisory service for farmers, it was a vote of no confidence by the Government in the future of agriculture.
He said the Teagasc cuts revealed more about Government thinking on the future of agriculture that all the ministerial statements of the past 12 months.
Mr Dillon said the IFA was calling on the Government to set out a five-year time-frame for Teagasc's finances and he called on the Minister for Finance to separate the pension commitments of Teagasc from the current operational budget.