Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael)
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Gender equality in agriculture is a key priority of mine. I am actively promoting gender equality, under Ireland’s CAP Strategic Plan (CSP), through initiatives such as:

• An increased grant rate of 60% under the Women Farmers’ Capital Investment Scheme to fund on-farm investments by trained women farmers.
• The inclusion of an option to establish women-only groups in the current Knowledge Transfer Programme.
• Improved recording and reporting of gender data, and the leveraging of the National CAP Network to increase female participation in CAP.
• Providing funding of €650,000 over three years to a European Innovation Partnership aimed at addressing the needs of women on farms in relation to working with machinery and livestock.

From 2028 onwards, the European Commission is proposing that gender data collection should become a mandatory part of CAP supports. In the current CSP period, we are collecting gender data of aid applicants for the first time, to develop more robust baseline data.

Ireland’s agri-food strategy, Food Vision 2030, recognises the importance of gender balance to the long-term sustainable future of primary producers, and includes actions to promote and improve gender balance across the sector. A key commitment was to hold a National Dialogue on Women in Agriculture, which took place in 2023. This provided a platform to explore gender equality in farming and the agri-food sector generally, identifying challenges and exploring possible solutions.

Implementation of the resulting national action plan on women in agriculture is overseen by a dedicated working group of relevant stakeholders. Progress is ongoing, with several actions complete or nearing completion. A detailed implementation report is expected in early 2026.

Additionally, through funding of the ACORNS programme, I am ensuring the provision of tailored support to early-stage female entrepreneurs living in rural Ireland. With up to 50 spaces available each year, 2025 has seen a record 200 applications from women seeking to benefit from this award-winning programme.

At State Board level, considerable progress has been made in achieving the government’s target of at least 40% female participation. In the 13 Boards under my remit, 10 have reached or exceeded the target as of June 2025.

As we enter the second half of this decade, it is timely to reflect on what has been achieved and to ensure that Ireland's agri-food strategy remains ambitious, focused, and responsive to evolving challenges and opportunities.