Norman Egar from Brannockstown, Naas, Kildare, was elected new FCI national chair at the association’s AGM in Portlaoise recently.

Norman has been FCI vice-chair for a number of years and he takes over from outgoing chair, John Hughes from Kilkenny. Norman’s term of office begins in January 2026.

“We will continue to work towards proper contractor registration, and it remains a high priority for us.

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"I will continue to work with our FCI council members to strive to get a proper registration process in place, to our sector on a professional basis,” he added.

“Training has become another priority for agricultural and forestry contractors, and at FCI we are giving this a huge effort in 2026. FCI is getting the message out through proper representation, effective lobbying both here in Ireland and in Europe through our involvement in CEETTAR, giving a level of support for our sectors that has never been there for contractors in the past,” said Norman.

For 25 years, Norman has been running an agricultural contracting business with his brother Mark, trading as Garavald Ltd. They also operate as Agrilife, which is an agricultural nutrient management operation. They have developed BVS Parts Ltd as a machinery parts supply business with Patrick and Laura Nolan of Belan Agri.