I welcome the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Deputy Martin Heydon, to the House.

I thank the Cathaoirleach for choosing my Commencement matter. I also thank the Minister for coming in. I am very grateful that he is attending here himself.

As the Minister will know, we would be lost without women. I just wanted to say that at the very start. As we mark 2026 as the International Year of the Woman Farmer, it is timely to reflect on both the significant contribution of women to Irish agriculture and the steps still required to recognise and strengthen their role. Women are central to the sustainability, resilience and viability of our agricultural sector, yet despite their immense contribution, they remain persistently under-represented as farm holders. According to the Farm Structure Survey 2023 conducted by the Central Statistics Office, CSO, women make up just 13.2% of farm holders in Ireland, accounting for 17,519 out of 133,174 farm holders. A related study funded by the Department of agriculture and published in March 2025 found that a similar figure of 13.4% of farm holders are women, a figure that has shown little increase since 1991.

The picture becomes even clearer when we look beyond ownership to overall labour. The CSO notes that women account for 34% of all farm workers in Ireland, highlighting that while women participate widely in farm labour, they are far less represented in positions of legal and marginal authority. Additionally, female farm holders tend to operate smaller farms, often in areas with lower land values, and remain disproportionately represented in lower income farm systems such as mixed field crops and specialist sheep. This is consistent with broader research showing that female farm incomes are consistently lower than those of their male counterparts.

As we celebrate the year of the woman farmer, it is vital to ask how we ensure this year becomes not just symbolic but a catalyst for lasting change. The Department has already recognised the importance of increasing the presence of women in the agricultural field. The Government's women in agriculture initiatives, which I welcome, the national dialogue on women in agriculture and the emerging national women in agriculture action plan all underline a clear commitment to gender equality within the sector. Furthermore, Ireland's active co-sponsorship of this UN-designated year demonstrates leadership internationally. The International Year of the Woman Farmer 2026 aims to highlight the essential but often overlooked roles that women play throughout the agrifood systems and to promote action to close gender gaps. The Department has committed to amplifying the visibility of Irish women farmers throughout the year, recognising the persistent barriers regarding land access, finance, training and representation.

What further measures will the Department introduce during the year of the woman farmer to promote equality of access to land, training and financial supports? Will the Minister's Department commit to expanding gender-disaggregated data collection to better capture women's roles, their incomes and farm decision-making? How will the Minister's Department ensure the national women in agriculture action plan is fully implemented, with clear timelines and accountability?

Before I invite the Minister to respond I must welcome the transition year students in the Public Gallery, who are here today with the Office of the Ombudsman. Tá fáilte mhór romhaibh agus go raibh míle maith agaibh as ucht teacht isteach.

I thank Senator Murphy O'Mahony for raising this important issue, which is very topical in this early part of 2026. Before I answer on the key points she raised, I will say that I am the youngest of three and, unfortunately, my dad died when I was eight years old. Back in 1986, my mother, as a 43-year-old widow, had a choice to make as to whether to set the farm to educate her three children. She insisted on continuing to farm it with me before and after school, morning and evening, because she said that if I grew up on a farm that was set, I would never have a grá for the land. I had that experience of seeing my mother in the mid-1980s as a young female farmer. Many female farmers are there not through planned circumstance but through inheritance as a widow.

That experience is not easy. I have seen how hard it is for a female farmer in a system that is male-dominated. This is an area about which I am passionate. I am delighted to see the progress we are making on the action plan points. I look forward to continuing to work with my colleagues in both Houses of the Oireachtas to ensure we make lasting change and the cultural change the Senator talked about in her opening address.

It is fair to say that women play an essential role in agriculture and agribusiness. However, they can face significant barriers to land, finance, training and decision-making. Gender equality in agriculture is, therefore, a priority of mine and features strongly in the new programme for Government, as the Senator knows. It is a core element of Ireland's domestic policy framework, including Food Vision 2030, and is central to our wider international development work.

The International Year of the Woman Farmer is an opportunity to recognise the vital role that women play across the agrifood sector. It is also an opportunity to target gaps within policy with concrete actions. Ireland is actively engaging with this global initiative by co-sponsoring the official launch ceremony at the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, FAO, and taking steps domestically to raise visibility, improve participation and expand supports.

The outcomes and recommendations of the national dialogue on women in agriculture formed the basis of a 12-point national action plan, which was launched in 2024. It seeks to address issues across areas such as leadership, visibility, educational awareness, financial and legal matters and sustainability. Implementation has worked and progressed well under the stewardship of the women in agriculture working group and a final report is expected shortly. I intend to use the platform of the International Year of the Woman Farmer to build on this momentum and further improve gender equality in farming throughout the year.

Ireland was one of only two member states to formally include support for women farmers under the Common Agricultural Policy, CAP, strategic plan. The most significant practical measure to support female farmers is the women farmers' capital investment scheme. It provides an enhanced grant of 60%, up to €90,000, for on-farm capital investments. Additionally, the Department funded Making Farms Work For Women, a European Innovation Partnership project. It seeks to foster a more inclusive environment for women on farms and to address physical barriers to sole female farming.

Beyond financial supports, a range of initiatives is planned for this year. Our search for a female farmer ambassador for the International Year of the Woman Farmer places women farmers at the heart of our plans for this year. It offers a unique opportunity to represent female farmers, promote existing supports and initiatives, and highlight important issues. I have seen at first-hand the incredible work of women farmers and am confident of the high calibre of entries for this important role. I will announce the outcome at the flagship International Year of the Woman Farmer event in Athlone in March.

Rising engagement in formal agricultural learning and leadership has led to an increase in the number of women taking up formal agricultural education. The establishment of the women in agricultural studies award, in association with the UCD school of agriculture and food science, is just one way in which we acknowledge and promote the involvement of women and young girls in agriculture. Through these initiatives, we celebrate women's contributions to agriculture and create lasting structural change, enhancing recognition, participation and leadership.

I am sorry to hear about the Minister's dad. His mum was obviously a very strong and committed woman. He did not pick that up off the stones. Fair play to her.

I thank the Minister for his commitment. As he said, he saw first hand what women in agriculture can do. Nothing changes if nothing changes. What is frightening is that where a successor is identified, that successor is predominantly male. In this day and age, that has to change. I thank the Minister for his commitment.

I am leaning back into the personal element again. Happily, my wife and I continue to farm at home with four young children. I am passionately of the view that my daughter, who is only in junior infants, has every bit as much of an opportunity to inherit that farm as any of her three brothers. They will have an equal opportunity and it will depend on whoever displays the most interest in and passion for agriculture and farming. That is where we need to get to. That is why there are measures we can take. Having ambassadors will allow people to see it and be it. We need more female participation. That participation is there. I know of situations, as the Senator does, whereby the female, perhaps the wife of the husband farmer, is an integral part of the farming system and no big management decision is made on the farm without her input. It is very much a partnership. However, because her name does not appear anywhere on a piece of paper, she does not exist in the eyes of my Department. That is wrong. Those are the types of issues we want to address. We can take practical measures that will highlight the role that women farmers play and encourage more participation into the future.

I look forward to working with the Senator and colleagues on that.

With the Senators' agreement, we will suspend while the Dáil vote takes place. Is that agreed? Agreed.