The State Laboratory was set up in 1924 to provide the newly formed Irish Government with
an analytical and consultative service. It is the result of a merger with the chemical
laboratory of the Agriculture Department, which was housed in government buildings on
Merrion Street, by the laboratory of the Revenue Commissioners, which then was located in
the Custom House.
The State Laboratory stayed in Merrion Street for almost 60 years and its role spread over
that time to include the bulk of areas of state legislative action involving the deployment of
scientific knowledge from its roots in income and farming. This rise represents the
development of the number of people in the early years from 20 to around 100.
The main clients of the National Laboratory are the Department of Agriculture, Food and the
Marine (DAFM), the Office of the Commissioners of Revenue, and the Coroners, and the
Regulatory Authority for Health Products (HPRA). The main activity areas sponsored by the
laboratory's research are:
? Agriculture and Food with an emphasis on food safety and quality.
? Compliance with Customs and Excise legislation.
? Coroner's Service.
? Controlling the use of Unlicensed Medicines.
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