Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 11 February 2004
162 Mr. Ferris asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food if he will make a statement on the EU report of June 2003 on the role of women in rural areas and on the proposals his Department will make in order to fulfil the report's recommendations on health care, retirement benefits, maternity leave and other benefits. [4173/04]
View answerWhile the specific issues referred to by the Deputy do not come within my Department's remit, in 1999 I established an advisory committee on the role of women in agriculture. The report of the committee was published in September 2000 and contained 36 recommendations in total, covering a very broad range of policy and operational areas relating to women in rural communities generally.
The recommendations have been pursued and implemented in as far as practicable. A comprehensive progress report on all of the recommendations relevant to Departments has been finalised, and I have arranged for a copy to be sent to the Deputy.
