Pippa Hackett (Green Party) | Oireachtas source

It is great to be in the Seanad to speak. Spring is in the air and it is a time of renewal. A great new energy is rising. It is a time of planting and many farmers throughout the country will shortly begin to sow seeds. Calving and lambing are under way, the days are lengthening and there is evidence of new growth. Imbolc is also about the seeds of new ideas. We are one of the world's top agricultural producers but we have one of the lowest rates of organic production in Europe. Organic farming is still a new idea to many. While many of the practices are similar to those our grandparents used, we have become dependent on chemical inputs and solutions to produce our food. Consumer attitudes are changing and we need to work with natural systems for all the food we produce.

The market for organic produce is growing and support for organic farming is also growing. Next week I will reopen the organic farming scheme for the second time in as many years with an additional €5 million. It will be more accessible to a greater number of farmers. The scheme will open every year for the next five years and, hopefully, beyond. I ask farmers to please consider it. Organic farming will be a big part of our future. As it happens, tomorrow I will launch Ireland's first ever master's programme in organic agriculture at Waterford Institute of Technology. It is designed to upskill farmers and growers in organic farming practices. This is an important step not only for climate action, biodiversity and water quality but also for soil health. Our soil holds the key to many of the problems we face and we need to nurture it.

Yesterday we celebrated St. Brigid's Day. While she is much associated with Kildare recently I found out she also has Offaly connections, having been made a nun at Croghan Hill. Brigid is well recognised as a patron of all things nature and agricultural. I pay tribute to all of the women in agriculture and science who work so hard in sectors dominated by men. As someone with a science background, I encourage more women to take up careers in science, technology, engineering, mathematics, agriculture and, like all of the women in the Chamber, in politics. We need more women in politics in every party and at every level. This week, I was delighted to welcome a young woman in County Laois into politics. Rosie Palmer from Ballinakill is playing her part not only in a greener future for Laois but in increasing female representation in politics in Ireland. I welcome Rosie on board.

I also applaud two young scientists, granddaughters of farmers, who recently presented a project on milk quality at the BT Young Scientist exhibition. Caoimhe O'Grady and Clodagh McGauran from Navan compared the quality and yield of milk produced from mixed species sward to that coming from a rye grass sward. This is a topic close to my own heart and the results were encouraging. Encouraging too is the fact that young women such as Caoimhe and Clodagh are pursuing science and agriculture with such a progressive topic. I am sure Brigid would be very proud of them both.