Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 13 June 2024
50. Deputy Niamh Smyth asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his plans to change the overrepresentation of females in lower grades within farming bodies and their underrepresentation in senior positions within these same farming bodies; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25631/24]
View answerWhile the organisation of farm bodies is a matter for themselves and is not my responsibility, gender equality is a key a priority for me. Current CAP Regulations place particular focus on promoting women’s participation in the development of rural areas, with special attention to farming. Good progress has been made in this area and under Ireland’s new CAP Strategic Plan (CSP) I am actively promoting gender equality, through initiatives such as;
• An increased grant rate of 60% under the Capital Investment Scheme to fund investments by trained women farmers.
• The option to establish women-only Knowledge Transfer Groups.
• Improved recording and reporting of gender data and the leveraging of the National CAP Network to increase the involvement of all women in the implementation of CAP.
• European Innovation Partnership open call for proposals on “innovative approaches to support greater gender balance in farming in Ireland.
In addition, I support rural female entrepreneurs by funding the ACORNS programme tailored to support early-stage female entrepreneurs living in rural Ireland.
Ireland’s agri-food strategy, Food Vision 2030 recognises the importance of gender balance to the long-term sustainable future for primary producers. In this regard, it should be acknowledged that the farm bodies were active participants in the Committee that developed Food Vision. The strategy includes actions to promote and improve gender balance at all levels within the sector.
I am a strong advocate of the need for greater female representation on the State Boards under my remit. Of the board positions that have become available since I was appointed Minister, I have appointed 47 females. Of this, 28 were new female appointments, 19 were re-appointments of existing female candidates. At the time of my appointment only 2 out of 12 boards had reached the 40% gender target, whereas now 8 out of 13 have reached this target. All boards are asked to nominate both male and female candidates for roles and I will continue to progress this across all boards.
In addition a National Dialogue on Women in Agriculture was held in February 2023 which examined gender equality in farming and the agri-food sector generally. A report and action plan were published earlier this year. A working group has been established to oversee implementation of the action plan. I also wrote to the CEOs of state bodies under my remit encouraging them to engage with the group and to consider how they might implement relevant actions within their organisations.
While I have no responsibility for the running of farming bodies, I would encourage them to reflect on the importance of equal representation and to do all they can to ensure there is a strong female representation at all levels of their organisations which mirrors their membership.
