88 Mr. Hyland asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry the parallel measures, if any, he will put in place regarding the recently announced proposal of special measures to support the role of women in rural society by the Agricultural EU Commissioner, Mr. Frans Fischler; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5907/96]

The Deputy may be interested in the following measures in place to support the role of women in rural society. Under the Operational Programme for Agriculture, Rural Development and Forestry, 1994-1999 under the Structural Funds, Teagasc is committed to providing training for promoting the role and active participation of women in rural society. In order to facilitate the participation of women in Teagasc training courses, a number of the adult courses will be reserved for women in 1996, with an anticipated enrolment of about 700.

The training needs of women were the subject of a study commissioned by Teagasc and carried out in 1995 with funding under the EU NOW initiative. Their training programme covers the following areas:—

—the Certificate in Farming now includes a module stressing the importance of involving women in the whole decision making process in relation to agriculture and rural development

—specific courses are provided for rural women on personal development, start-your-own business, food enterprise, etc.