Heydon: ‘We want to incorporate' women farmers in EU presidency
Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Martin Heydon has said he 'absolutely wants' to incorporate the issue of women in agriculture into Ireland's presidency of the Council of the EU.
The minister was speaking at a meeting of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine this week, his first meeting with the committee as the senior minister at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine.
In the second half of 2026, Ireland will hold the six-month rotating presidency of the Council of the EU, which means Minister Heydon, if he is still minister at that time, will chair the meetings of the EU's agriculture ministers.
Among the wide range of issues that came up at this week's committee meeting was women in agriculture, with Senator Victor Boyhan asking the minister if he will make the issue a priority during Ireland's EU council presidency.
Boyhan also pointed out that 2026 has been designated by the United Nations (UN) as the International Year of the Woman Farmer.
Boyhan told the minister: 'The UN have designated 2026 – which is timely as you'll be [in] a critical role in all of this – as the international year of women farmers.
'There is a lead-in time, and a very significant lead-in time, and I want to use some of my time in this agricultural committee to really, really champion women in agriculture,' Boyhan added.
'I think it's really, really important that we support women in agriculture, that we have this UN designation in 2026, we also have the presidency [of the EU council] in 2026.
'I'd ask you to take away this request…that you would really place a high focus on that, and perhaps you might initiate some engagement later in the year back to this committee to see how can we build around stakeholder involvement; how can we put that to the fore of agriculture and our deliberations in the Oireachtas and this committee, because I think that is really important,' Boyhan said.
In response to Boyhan's comments, Minister Heydon said: 'That is something we absolutely want to incorporate into our presidency.'
According to the minister, the issue of women in farming is important globally, not just in Ireland or the EU; and that the EU has role in promoting that.
'There is an element that when you have the presidency of the EU, it's a huge honour, but it comes with it a responsibility, not just within the EU, but obviously then…outward facing.
'Women in agriculture is something that I promoted at events when I was on trade missions in Mexico previously, and different areas, but one area where it's really important is the area of Africa,' Minister Heydon said.
'Incorporating the women in agriculture role and linking it to food security in places like Africa is really important as well,' he added.
Turning back to Irish farming, the minister said: 'Women in agriculture also features in our programme for government, and there are key measures I would look to progress over my term in the Department of Agriculture to be able to enhance that role because I know how important it is.
'We have so many farms where women are the key drivers of the farm but their name may not appear on the blue card or on the herd number and therefore their role isn't as recognised, but it's absolutely integral.
'I'm happy to work with you and the committee members on any ideas you might have on that or other elements of our presidency [of the EU council],' Minister Heydon added.
Speaking to Agriland at Leinster House after his comments in the committee, Senator Boyhan, said: 'We have a vast array of interests on the committee, so I chose today to speak about women in agriculture because there was…an action plan arising from the National Dialogue on Women in Agriculture, so I particularly zoned in on that.
'I think to be effective in the agriculture committee given our limited time, we have to use that time wisely and I persuaded the minister to commit to [that], particularly next year because next year is the international year for women in agriculture, also we have the presidency, so I think it's important that we dovetail them, and I got that commitment from the minister,' Boyhan added.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
RTÉ News
2 hours ago
- RTÉ News
Russia, Ukraine head to Istanbul for fresh peace talks
Russian and Ukrainian officials will meet in Istanbul to exchange their plans for how to end the three-year war, Europe's largest conflict since World War II, after Ukraine says it struck dozens of strategic bombers parked at airbases deep in Russia. Urged on by US President Donald Trump, the countries have opened direct negotiations for the first time since the early weeks of Russia's invasion but have yet to make significant progress towards an elusive agreement. The talks come a day after Ukraine carried out one of its most brazen and successful attacks ever on Russian soil - hitting dozens of strategic bombers parked at airbases thousands of kilometres behind the front line. At the first round of talks in Istanbul last month, they agreed to a large-scale prisoner exchange and to swap notes on what their vision of a peace deal might look like. The second set of negotiations is scheduled to get underway at 11pm Irish time at the Ciragan Palace in Istanbul, an Ottoman imperial house on the banks of the Bosphorus that is now a luxury five-star hotel. Russia says it will present a "memorandum" of its peace terms, having resisted pressure by Ukraine to send its demands in advance. Despite the flurry of diplomacy, the two sides remain far apart over a possible deal - either for a truce or longer-term settlement. Outlining Ukraine's position ahead of the talks, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky refreshed his call for an immediate halt to the fighting. "First - a full and unconditional ceasefire. Second -- the release of prisoners. Third - the return of abducted children," he said in a post on social media. He also called for the sides to discuss a direct meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. "The key issues can only be resolved by the leaders," Mr Zelensky said. The Kremlin has repeatedly pushed back on that prospect, saying a Putin-Zelensky meeting could only happen after the negotiating delegations reach wider "agreements". Russia has questioned Mr Zelensky's legitimacy throughout the war and repeatedly called for him to be toppled. Russia has said it wants to address the "root causes" of the conflict - language typically used to refer to a mix of sweeping demands including limiting Ukraine's military, banning the country from joining NATO and massive territorial concessions. Ukraine and the West have rejected those calls and cast Russia's assault as nothing but an imperialist land grab. Tens of thousands have been killed since Russia invaded, with swathes of eastern and southern Ukraine destroyed and millions forced to flee their homes. War rages on Russia's top negotiator in Istanbul will be Vladimir Medinsky, an ideological Putin aide who led failed talks in 2022, has written school textbooks justifying the invasion and questioned Ukraine's right to exist. Ukraine's team will be led by Defence Minister Rustem Umerov, seen as a skilled and pragmatic negotiator, but who has been mired in domestic scandal over alleged abuse of power and a lack of transparency. "Diplomatic advisors" from Germany, France and Britain will be "on the ground... in close coordination with the Ukrainian negotiating team," a German government spokesperson said Sunday. Ukraine said it had damaged some 40 strategic Russian bombers, worth $7 billion, in a major special operation after months of setbacks for the country's military. Ukraine's security service said the plan, 18 months in the making, had involved smuggling drones into Russia which were then launched from near the airbases, thousands of kilometres away from the front lines. Russian troops have meanwhile been advancing on the ground, particularly in the northeastern Sumy region, where Mr Putin ordered his forces to establish a "buffer zone" along the border. Ballistic strikes in the northeastern Kharkiv region yesterday injured at least six people, including a seven-year-old, and damaged a civilian business and a warehouse, Kharkiv Governor Oleg Synegubov said on Monday. Ahead of the talks, Russian officials have called for Ukraine to be cut off from Western military support and cede territory still controlled by its army. Ukraine has pushed Russia to agree to a full, unconditional and immediate ceasefire - saying a pause in the fighting is necessary to then discuss what a long-term settlement could look like. Ukraine has refused to formally give up the one-fifth of its territory controlled by Russia, though it has accepted that it may only be able to get some land back through diplomacy, not fighting. It also wants concrete Western-backed security guarantees - like NATO protections or Western troops on the ground - that have also been ruled out by Russia.
Irish Independent
3 hours ago
- Irish Independent
Letters: US constitution should be used to halt Donald Trump's ban on foreign students
However, the Ivy League university quickly filed a complaint in a federal court in Boston, saying the government's action violated the First Amendment and would have an immediate and devastating effect for Harvard and its valued core of international students. US district judge Allison Burroughs quickly issued a temporary restraining order, freezing the Department of Homeland Security's directive for two weeks. The judge's order prevents Trump from revoking Harvard's certification in the student and exchange visitor programme, which allows the university to enrol international students with visas to study in the US. Harvard enrolled almost 6,800 foreign students in its current school year at its campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Most are graduate students, who come from more than 100 countries, including Ireland. It's essential that Trump's attempt to overturn the well-established and lawful practice of American universities welcoming international students is blocked by the federal court. Scholarship and learning are without borders. Ireland and the US have facilitated each other's students for undergraduate, postgraduate, research and cultural exchange for many decades. Indeed, Ireland has a proud record of welcoming foreign students to study in our excellent third-level education system. The same can currently be said about the US. The American constitution must now stand robustly against a president who is determined to damage that record. Billy Ryle, Tralee, Co Kerry The US system is working – checks and balances are stopping president's overreach The crisis of US president Donald Trump's assault on the rule of law is beyond the pale. I say that because nothing like this has ever happened in American history. I believe Trump and his MAGA devotees may need a quick civics lesson about the law. They need to be reminded that courts can overturn unconstitutional laws. I would like to bring to their attention that an executive order isn't law and a president can't make laws without Congress. When judges decide to block Trump, one finds that this is literally how checks and balances work. John O'Brien, Clonmel, Co Tipperary Conflict in Palestine has deep roots, but Benjamin Netanyahu has seized his opportunity Ciaran Masterson asks 'have we forgotten that Hamas started this?' (Sunday Independent, Letters, June 1). I would like to point out the conflict between the state of Israel and the Palestinian people has been ongoing since 1948. I first witnessed the treatment of Palestinian people by Israeli forces of occupation in 1974 when I took up an appointment with United Nations. The Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, was not 'the beginning' of the problem – just the excuse Benjamin Netanyahu needed to pursue his policies of ethnic cleansing. Michael Moriarty, Rochestown, Co Cork We've had two decades of promises on housing, but nobody telling the truth Yet another week of Irish politics and the non-stop saga on provision of housing fills the media. For nigh on two decades, politicians have spouted innumerable promises on housing provision. Were these promises in good faith or merely empty to get a vote? Today, the political parties who have been in power alternatively since 1922 would have the citizenry believe a special 'housing tsar' is the only way to remedy the situation. Definitely not a job for the boys. I am aware of much of the history of the provision of housing throughout the nation from the post Civil War – a disastrous financial era; through the precarious financial years 1939 to 1970. Is there one honest person in politics or the civil service to inform the electorate of Ireland exactly who, or what, the problem is today, when the nation is wealthy and better educated? Declan Foley, Melbourne, Australia Our military capability is weakening as Vladimir Putin's hawkish eyes scan Europe The fact that the Naval Service has had to tie up some of its vessels because of staff shortages is old news. Then during the past week this paper reported that Air Corps flight operations are to move to part-time hours at its headquarters in Baldonnel and may soon have to cease entirely. This military impairment is oceans away from the Naval Service doubling its fleet to 12 vessels, enabling it to possess 'a defensive conventional maritime war-fighting capability' and the Air Corps becoming the Irish Air Force and acquiring a squadron of aircraft 'capable of air combat and interception of airborne threats', as set out in the Commission on the Defence Forces Report (2022). Meanwhile, Vladimir Putin probes our skies and waters which are laden with critical undersea communications infrastructure, undoubtedly observing us as a rudderless, wingless and feckless territory on the edge of a continent he despises. Michael Gannon, St Thomas Square, Kilkenny city I'll raise a glass to Darragh McManus's article on replica jersey obsession Darragh McManus's fine piece on the replica jersey obsession made me pause and take stock of my own wardrobe ('Our children's choice of replica shirts sums up the generation gap to a tee', Irish Independent, May 31). I do have a few Armagh polo shirts (and why wouldn't I, after the year Armagh just had?), but at this very moment I find myself writing to you while wearing a KEO beer T-shirt I picked up in Cyprus. A quick count suggests I own more beer-branded shirts than sports ones. Somewhere along the way, I clearly took a wrong turn – probably at the fridge. Enda Cullen, Tullysaran, Co Armagh My theory on Causeway coins takes one giant leap of the imagination Perhaps the people who placed coins between the rocks at the Giant's Causeway had been advised to put their money 'into bricks and mortar'? Tom Gilsenan, Beaumont, Dublin 9
Irish Independent
4 hours ago
- Irish Independent
Changes to generous EU flight compensation rules are needed, airline lobby group says
EU transport ministers meet this week to discuss possible changes to EU261 rules EU transport ministers will meet this week in Luxembourg to discuss potential changes to the generous compensation that air passengers can secure when their flights are delayed. It comes as air passengers can expect further delays this summer, mainly due to air traffic control factors. Related topics John Mulligan EU
