The first candidate elected from the agricultural panel to the 25th Seanad, Conway-Walsh was delighted with the result of the vote.

“It is a great day for Sinn Féin, it is a great day for the west and it is a great day for agriculture,” she said.

The Belmullet native believes more must be done to help smaller farmers, particularly west of the Shannon.

“The main thing is to represent farmers’ positions in the west. I have a particular interest in dealing with the erosion of farming, especially the smaller farmers. The barriers to farming in the west of Ireland in particular are certainly an issue,” she said.

Conway-Walsh also feels the recent CAP talks have not helped smaller farmers’ positions.

There was an opportunity in the recent CAP discussion to right some of the wrongs there and this opportunity was missed

“It goes back to the CAP negotiations back in 2000/2001 and what was done there. I don’t think that it gave a fair chance to the smaller farmers. There was an opportunity in the recent CAP discussion to right some of the wrongs there and this opportunity was missed. The GLAS programme is all well and good but it is not REPS four. That is represented in the income of smaller farmers,” Conway-Walsh said.

The Seanad has come in for much criticism in recent years, leading to the failed referendum to abolish the body in 2013, but Conway Walsh maintains that the upper house of the Oireachtas is still relevant and can influence policy on agriculture.

“There are many reforms to be done within the Seanad but we will be aiming to put agriculture front and centre of the Oireachtas,” she said.

Mercosur and TTIP

With the Mercosur and TTIP deals just over the horizons, the threats to Irish agriculture are real. Conway-Walsh believes measures must be put in place to help farmers cope with the pressure of oversupply in the marketplace.

She said Sinn Féin MEP Matt Carthy has been putting TTIP on the agenda to inform people of the negative impact it will have particularly in agriculture. “It must be rural proofed against agriculture and what it could do in terms of the market supply,” she added.

Fellow Sinn Féin Senator Trevor Ó Clochartaigh got elected from the agricultural panel on the second count on Tuesday morning.