Bord Glas, the Irish Horticulture Board, ceased to exist yesterday when it was formally merged with An Bord Bia, the Irish Food Board. Seán MacConnell, Agriculture Correspondent, reports.
It is now a subsidiary board for horticulture within the Food Board, becoming the second statutory subsidiary board of An Bord Bia, after the Meat and Livestock Board.
There are two other subsidiary boards: the Consumer Foods Board and the Quality Assurance Board.
The horticulture body will have a chairman and 12 members drawn from the ranks of those with knowledge or experience of the sector. The horticulture sector will be represented by two members on the main board of An Bord Bia.
The amalgamation initially met strong resistance from the sector, which had tried for many years to have its own dedicated board.
The proposal to turn Bord Glas into a subsidiary of Bord Bia came with Government cutbacks two years ago.
The Minister for Agriculture and Food, Mr Walsh, had argued that the horticulture sector would be better served by an amalgamated body which "could achieve the synergies necessary to best promote and market both food and horticulture at home and abroad".
The merger has come at a difficult time for former Bord Glas staff who had recently moved offices to north Co Dublin. They now face another transfer, this time to Enniscorthy, Co Wexford, which is to be the location of the head office of the Food Board.