Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The Deputy will be as well aware as I am that we have had a massive cultural challenge over the years around women not being treated equally with men when it comes to farm inheritance because of cultural perceptions. It has been the case for too long that a son or nephew is often preferred over a niece or daughter regardless of interest levels. This has led to a situation where only 13% of our farm holders are women, even though the latest census figures show that 70,000 women in the country are involved in farm management and in actual active farming. I want to address this. Obviously, the Minister of State, Senator Hackett. wants to address it. The Government very much wants to address it. To help to break down this cultural barrier, we have taken the unprecedented step of allocating 60% grant aid for female farmers as part of a CAP initiative. We want to encourage that. We want to get the message out there that it is not acceptable to have such a low level of female farm holders. We want to improve that and this measure can help to do that. It is not a silver bullet but it is a very clear message.

In other areas of the agrifood sector such as the food business, and in the educational courses provided around the country through Teagasc, further education providers, institutes of technology and universities, the representation of women is fantastic alongside men. There is great participation. If one calls a vet to come to the yard for an animal in need, it is more likely that a female vet will arrive than a male vet because there are more female vets emerging from our colleges. It is not yet being seen at a farm level within the farm gate. We want to address that and change that to get the message out there that we want to see more female farmers. It is great to see and we will support it.

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