Lynn Boylan (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the speakers. As somebody from Dublin it is very interesting to be listening to this discussion on women in farming. I sympathise with Ms Crowley. I was one of two women who took the Coillte ground felling and chainsaw course. While it did not bother me, I could see why it would put other women off doing the same course with Coillte. The witnesses have answered a lot of the questions with the previous speakers, but is there a formal education programme?

It is right to get in at primary school level because students make choices as they progress to secondary school and their choice of subjects dictates the path they will take. Are there formal education programmes to go in at primary school and follow up in transition year to reinforce the point that there is a future for women in farming and they should consider farming?

Agriculture is changing and we are in a transitional phase. Does that open up new opportunities? Ms Quinn-Mulligan is right that it makes no difference who is operating machinery but is there something to the fact that there are more women involved in organic farming? Does diversification and the transition we are making on climate provide new opportunities for women to get involved in farming?