DUP meet AFBI
06 October 2006
The DUP have met with George McIlroy, Chief Executive of the Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute and other senior representatives of the organisation. The DUP delegation included Jim Allister MEP, William McCrea MP and Edwin Poots MLA.
Speaking after the meeting Jim Allister said, “It is good to hear first hand the role of AFBI and how their work has benefited the agricultural community in Northern Ireland. It is vital that we have world leading scientific research taking place here within Northern Ireland to help the agri-food sector. It is also vital that Northern Ireland has the capacity to deal with an emergency response for incidents like foot and mouth disease or a bird flu outbreak.
“Research carried out over the years at Hillsborough, one of the 7 specialised sites belonging to AFBI, was the basis of the scientific case put to the European Commission when designing the action programme for implementing the Nitrates Directive in Northern Ireland. I have little doubt that the action programme would have been much worse if there had not been scientific research carried out here in Northern Ireland. It is vital that core Government funding is provided to AFBI over the longer term to ensure that this vital work can continue.”
