Tim Lombard (Fine Gael)
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I have some comments to make. I will not speak for as long as the voting is taking place because that would be an exceptionally lengthy contribution.

This is a very interesting debate. If we look back to the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, the family farm model was based on something different from what it is now. It was based on a dynamic whereby the wife stayed at home, looked after the farm and reared the family. In my part of the world, I think of my mother and our neighbours, Mrs. Brady, Mrs. Foley and Mrs. Barry. That was the family farm model. The world changed in the 1980s and 1990s, with farming becoming a one-person operation in the majority of, if not all, cases. Without doubt, it was the male who stayed at home and farmed. Society totally changed. The lack of a role model of the female farmer became an issue. I have two daughters at home and my mother is still very healthy. The lack of a role model in farming has become a big issue. We must look to how we can promote farming and get women involved.

I have a question about quotas. When it comes to elections, political parties have a quota to reach that 40% of candidates must be women. That is very helpful to politics. When it comes to things like boards of co-operative societies, quotas have not been considered. I was very critical of the Irish Cattle Breeding Federation, ICBF, on the gender issue when its representatives appeared before the committee a few months ago. Organisations like that need to be looked at as a key driver to build role models. We need women in those bodies to whom people can look as a driver of change in our society. What can we do about looking at the quota issue in the context of co-operative societies, mart boards and all the way through to organisations like the ICBF? We should even look at this with reference to officials within the Department. We were blessed with the officials from the Department who came in a while ago to discuss marine matters. They are three exceptionally capable women. On average, however, that is not our experience in that most of the officials we deal with are men. Do we need to consider the Department putting a quota in place to make sure we have women at the head of agriculture? I was struck by Mrs. Weir's reference to quotas. I am really interested to see where we can go in that regard. What is her view on how we can promote the kinds of role models or leaders in our communities and society to whom my two daughters could look?