Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 7 November 2023
1471. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development what action her Department is taking to promote gender diversity in rural development programs, particularly in the context of agriculture-related programs; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [48838/23]
View answerMy Department's stated mission is to promote rural and community development and to support vibrant, inclusive and sustainable communities throughout Ireland. The reference to 'inclusive' encapsulates gender inclusivity and this is reflected in a number of important ways across rural development initiatives implemented by my Department.
Firstly, in relation to rural development policy, Our Rural Future is the whole-of-government for rural Ireland. The policy explicitly recognises the importance of the diversity of rural communities and the need to ensure that such communities are supported to ensure that the needs and wellbeing of everyone are catered for in an inclusive way. The policy also clearly highlights the importance of gender equality in the agriculture sector, as referenced by the Deputy. Similarly, the National Outdoors Recreation Strategy, Embracing Ireland's Outdoors, sets out inclusion and ensuring participation opportunities are available for everyone as a key value underpinning the strategy.
My Department has also worked in collaboration with the National Women's Council to support the delivery of their conference on "Claiming our Space: Women in Rural Ireland leading Change" in October 2022. The conference provided an important forum which included a focus of the recognition of women in rural development policies, strategies and investment and I was delighted to address the conference on the day.
The importance of gender diversity is also reflected within elements of my Department's Rural Development Investment Programme. For example, preparations are now well advanced for the implementation of the new LEADER programme which is a key intervention linked to Our Rural Future and delivered under the auspices of Ireland's new CAP Strategic Plan. A key element of the LEADER programme is the bottom up nature of project development and selection, with investment decisions being implemented at local level by Local Action Groups (LAG). Given the important role of these LAGs, they are required to be broadly representative, and the guidance provided by my Department sets out that each LAG should aim to achieve gender balance in its composition.
In relation to agriculture related programmes specifically, I am aware that my colleague the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine has implemented a number of important initiatives in this regard. For example, Ireland's CAP Strategic Plan includes a number of targeted interventions such as increased grant rates under the Capital Investment Scheme TAMS to fund investments by trained women farmers, the promotion of women only Knowledge Transfer Groups, and the potential under the European Innovation Partnership model to develop initiatives that will promote women's participation in farming. The importance of gender equality in agriculture is also well recognised within Food Vision 2030, and in initiatives such as the ACORNS programme which supports rural female entrepreneurs.
