International Year of the Woman Farmer: Motion Seanad Éireann — 2026-05-20 ============================================================ Victor Boyhan (IND), Agricultural Panel Thank you. I welcome the Minister to the House. He is no stranger to me and I hope I am no stranger to him. I thank him for coming to deal with this motion. I want to set the context that the United Nations has designated 2026 as the International Year of the Woman Farmer. That is a very significant designation and we have been talking about it at the agriculture committee for the last 12 months. It is a global initiative that aims to increase awareness of the crucial role women play in the agri-food system and more specifically in food security, nutrition and poverty eradication. I acknowledge the programme for Government of 2025 recognises the need to do more on gender equality across society. Gender equality objectives in the UN sustainable development goals are core principles of the European Union. My motion seeks to focus on the promotion of the role of women in rural development, farming and food production. It is important we fully implement the national women in agriculture action plan to recognise the role of women in farming. I thank the Minister and acknowledge he commissioned the HER-SELF research project on women in agriculture, which is a very significant document and a very significant collaboration by women involved in agriculture. The outcome of the recommendations of that project which the Minister promoted and established also established for us all a baseline position on women in agriculture and provide for us an evidence base to inform policy in this area. I pay tribute to the amazing work of Rooted in Strength: Women, Climate and Food Justice, a celebration of the role of woman farmers organised by An Talamh Beo, which means living land, a member-led organisation of farmers, growers and land-based workers pursing change to food and agriculture systems in Ireland. From small horticulturists to beef, pork and sheep farmers and producers of milk, cheeses and yoghurt, all are committed to producing and selling healthy, nutrient-dense food grown in harmony with our environment. In Ireland approximately 90% of food, mainly dairy products and beef, is produced for export. That is something we can celebrate and be proud of. However, it is estimated about 80% of food on the Irish market is imported. Big agriculture, with its focus on livestock and grazing, is only part of the story of agriculture and food production in Ireland and indeed across the EU. Women farmers are renowned for introducing diversity to farming and that is a critical point I want to acknowledge as part of this debate on the UN International Year of the Woman Farmer. Farm succession is perhaps one of the biggest issues when it comes to women entering agriculture, or certainly one of the biggest issues when it comes to access to the farm. Farm succession planning is critical for the transfer of the family farm. Transfer of ownership of the farm is about more than land, as the Minister well knows. It is also about transferring skills, knowledge and labour to ensure the continuation of the agricultural enterprise. There are many tax liability challenges Government needs to address for the transfer of the family farm to be fair and successful. As policymakers and legislators we need to get a clearer picture from the national farm survey. This requires separate data on on-farm work, off-farm work and care work. Information on how labour is organised on farms, including hours worked and the types of activities carried out such as administrative or bookkeeping tasks, should also be captured in any new survey. Policymakers and legislators also need to understand the extent to which off-farm employment contributes to family farm income, so further analysis is also needed in that area. On acquisition of land and succession, one of the biggest barriers to working as a primary producer is a lack of access to land whether one is male or female. Data shows us over half of farmers in Ireland do not have an identified successor in place. Where there is an identified successor a significant majority - over 80% - of those identified as successors are male. Time and time again I have been told by farm families that there were mixed views on succession norms in Ireland. A few farmers spoke of being equal opportunity parents in that whichever child was most interested in the farm would go on to work on the farm, regardless of gender. I am encouraged by that. Their sense was that this was the case with an increasing number of farmers although this view is not, as the Minister knows, reflected in the quantitative data available to us. The son as heir mindset can potentially lead to problems, particularly if the son had little interest in farming. That is a challenge. I spoke with an agri adviser the other day and she told me she was on a farm some time ago and was praising the farmer for the fine farm enterprise he had. He told her in reply he hated the farm and resented it and was expected to return home from abroad to look after his parents and the farm. He was 70 years of age, single and, he said, very lonely, but he felt he had a duty to serve and continue the line of the family farm. Qualitative findings suggest greater dialogue on the impact of the son as heir norm on the sustainability of the agriculture sector and the burden this is for some is needed. We also hear so many times of the child who deserves the farm but does not get it. The land deserves the child who has the greater interest in farming it. It is of course a lifestyle choice and a choice for all involved. Negative impacts of not wanting the farm include loss of talent, pressures on men who do not wish to continue farming, reports of depression and loneliness. You might hear comments like “He got it handy”, “ He didn’t make it, he got it”, “He got his feet under the table” and “He got into this place”. These are somewhat derogatory remarks but they are challenging for those who are insecure and do not necessarily want the farm. There are missed opportunities in relation to alternative opportunities for the farm and impediments to women’s ability to fulfil their potential and desire to be farmers. Supporting women who wish to pursue careers in farming is critical to the sustainability of farming and rural communities. Statistics show there are more male than female students studying agricultural science at leaving certificate level. I would like to see a module on the green certificate included in the leaving certificate agricultural science course. Such an initiative would support and recognise students’ love and knowledge of farming and open up more possibilities for them in agriculture and innovation as a career path of choice. Too many students leave secondary school not too sure where they are going. A gap happens between second and third level education as young people may take a year out, and they drift from agriculture. I spoke to a family member the other day who said they never really did the green certificate and that they were sorry they did not. When you start making money it is very hard to go back into education and training. We could capture students in that period with just one elementary module as part of the agricultural science syllabus for those who choose it. That is really important in terms of agriculture. The United Nations sustainable development goals, which form part of my motion, are important. Goal 5 specifically addresses gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls everywhere by 2030. Irish data from the Census of Agriculture 2020, which the Minister will be familiar with, highlighted that women are under-represented in the agriculture sector and their valuable contributions every day to family farms are essentially invisible. Advancing gender equality is crucial to the sustainability and success of the agriculture sector. The Report of the Commission on Generational Renewal in Farming, which the Minister published in 2025, identified 31 barriers to generational renewal and specifically noted the importance of improving gender balance. This now provides a clear roadmap of progress for many of the matters that I have raised this evening. I am conscious that there are many players in agriculture but I want to take this opportunity to thank a few people who helped me to develop some thoughts on this motion. I acknowledge Philip Boucher-Hayes. RTÉ’s flagship agricultural and rural affairs radio programme, "CountryWide" has featured many successful women in agriculture, horticulture, forestry, and in artisan food related to agriculture. I listen to it every Saturday morning. I am sure most of us do, either in the car or out working. They are great ambassadors for agriculture and particularly great ambassadors for women who want to partake. I thank Agriland for its active and innovative communication in all things agriculture and food science. I thank Dr. Maura Farrell from NUI Galway, whose teaching and research are rooted in rural and agricultural geography, with a central focus on rural gender studies, rural development, land use, agricultural change, and the socioeconomic resilience of rural communities. I thank Jackie Flannery of the Irish Rural Association for her strong and consistently articulate advocacy for rural affairs. I particularly thank the research team of HER-SELF, a project that the Minister initiated, which I acknowledge. I thank Dr. Martina Roche and Dr. Noreen McNamara from Maynooth University, Dr. Mary Anne Hurley and Alice Hand from Munster Technological University, Dr. Áine Macken-Walsh from Teagasc, and the Minister's staff at the Department of agriculture. Finally, I thank the farmers, both female and male, who gave me their time to share their experiences and stories to assist me in a greater understanding of their ambition for greater and more equal opportunities for all in agriculture. I see I still have four or five minutes and want to touch on a few key issues. The Government's programme, Our Rural Future: Rural Development Policy 2021-2025, was an amazing document. I read most of it again today in preparation for this motion. I looked again at a further edition of its work programme, really focusing on some of the issues that may not have been addressed. I ask at some point that the Department look again at this, because all of this is still relevant. It may need slight updating. Things happened in the process of 2021 to 2025 that set back some of the key objectives, but the key objectives here talk about rural communities and equal opportunities in rural communities. They talk about rural housing. I am regularly here talking about rural housing and how we can address it. For 15 years, I have received letters from various Ministers talking about rural housing guidelines. We need rural housing guidelines. The other day, I heard the Minister for housing talking about his plans to release rural housing guidelines. I again say that we do not need the Minister to publish rural housing guidelines right now. We need to publish draft rural housing guidelines and to seek consultation on them. We know that clusters of housing are important. With my focus on women here today, we know that women who went into farm partnerships may be in farm partnerships with their parents. They may wish to build a new home on the farmland, particularly if it is extensive farmland. They do not necessarily want to live with their parents or grandparents. They want to establish their own families. That is supporting women in rural Ireland and women and new families in agriculture. Rural housing is critical. There is a greater focus in this document on developing our food hubs. I think of the food hub in Athy, which the Minister would be strongly associated with. I think of BIA Innovator in Galway. Hubs and innovation are important. Agriculture is now a science. It is not about putting a pair of wellingtons on and chancing your arm. It is now a science, so training is critically important, as is helping women to access agriculture and horticulture. It is not all academic. Much of the work can be learned through practical experiences. The Minister knows this because he has a young family. His children of seven, eight and nine could teach him a few things. Most children of 14 and 15 on a family farm in a protected setting are managing farm machinery and there are risks associated with that. They glean a vast amount of experience on the ground from the practicalities of agriculture. It is not all for the academic. There is practical learning. I know that Teagasc has done a lot of work in this space. How do we transfer knowledge in agriculture? How do we promote more food? I talked earlier about the 80% of food that we are bringing into this country. There are challenges and there is added value to foods, particularly in the dairy sector. We see that with yoghurts and so on. I went to Tesco recently with a delegation from the Oireachtas. I was so impressed to see so many new products on the shelves that came from Ireland. We have to be proud of our achievements. I acknowledge the significant work of Bord Bia. It is an amazing organisation. Like every organisation, it has its problems from time to time, but it is a showcase of our Irish food, horticulture and agriculture. It is a proud ambassador for us and we are proud of its work as an ambassador across the world. I commend it on that work. Women have a significant role and want to play an equal role. I talk about farmers and equal opportunity. I also talk about male farmers. Let us include and promote farmers and women to take their rightful place in a sustainable way so that we can build our rural communities. I thank the Minister. He has also been the Minister of State at the Department of agriculture, so he has continuity. He has been behind much of this. I suggest that we should not throw out this book, our rural future, but instead update it, renew it and renew our vigour to promote agriculture access for all. --- Source: Houses of the Oireachtas. Licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The Official Report is revised after first publication; the fetch timestamp below identifies the version quoted. Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-05-20/debate/main Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:58+00:00 Sitting date: 2026-05-20