Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 10 May 1994

Vol. 442 No. 5

Written Answers. - Agri-Tourism Scheme.

Theresa Ahearn

Ceist:

39 Mrs. T. Ahearn asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry the proposals, if any, he has to initiate an agri-tourism scheme exclusively targeted towards rural women; the support measures, if any, his Department operates for the benefit of rural women and tourism; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

Theresa Ahearn

Ceist:

54 Mrs. T. Ahearn asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry if his attention has been drawn to the feelings of isolation due to poor transport experienced by rural women as evident in a recent report Women and Rural Development; the proposals, if any, he has to improve the mobility of rural women; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

Theresa Ahearn

Ceist:

129 Mrs. T. Ahearn asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry the proposals, if any, he has to give fuller recognition of the imput and role of rural women on farms; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

Liz McManus

Ceist:

155 Ms McManus asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry if he has considered the recent report of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Women's Rights, entitled Women and Rural Development; if so, the steps, if any, he intends to take to address the difficulties of rural women identified in the report; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry (Mr. J. Walsh)

I propose to take Questions Nos. 39, 54, 129 and 155 together

I have received the report referred to. I am having the recommendations relating to the activities of my Department examined and I will respond in due course.

In the meantime I reiterate the Government's commitment in the National Development Plan that, in drawing up Structural Funds programmes, there will be no direct or indirect discrimination on grounds of gender. In the case of the operational programme prepared by my Department, data relating to participation by gender in each measure will be maintained and monitored to highlight, for example, possible instances of indirect discrimination in the eligibility criteria of schemes. The final reports of the consultants evaluating the operational programme for rural development and Leader I, due shortly, are expected to consider the extent to which these programmes met the needs of rural women. Their findings will be taken account of in implementing the new programmes.

Teagasc training programmes emphasise the importance of involving women in the decision making process relating to agriculture and rural development. All their training courses are equally open to men and women and their promotional material refers specifically to the suitability of courses for women. When we have available the results of a study under the EU initiative NOW — New Opportunities for Women — to determine the type of courses rural women most require and how participation by women in Teagasc courses could be improved, appropriate action will be taken to implement the findings.

In January I established a rural training advisory committee to implement the report of the review group on rural development training produced last year. The committee, which includes representatives of the ICA and the Council for the Status of Women, is considering how best the courses recommended by the review group can be made equally accessible to women and men.

Robert Molloy

Ceist:

41 Mr. Molloy asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry the plans, if any, he has to reduce the 200 hectare limit above which an environmental impact assessment is required for forestry; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry (Mr. J. Walsh)

As recently announced, I have arranged for a review of the controls relating to the scale of forestry development and the effectiveness of planning controls in this area to be carried out by my Department in conjunction with the Department of the Environment. Those involved in afforestation will be consulted as part of this process. I do not wish to pre-empt the outcome to this review by speculating on the measures which may or may not be considered desirable. I would however draw the Deputy's attention to the fact that the environmental impact assessment procedure is only one of a number of controls on forestry development in terms of environmental protection.