Efforts to secure maternity leave for farming women need to be looked at in terms of a broader rural development budget, delegates to this year’s Irish Country Living Women & Agriculture Conference have heard.
The event, held in Little Island, Co Cork, featured a panel discussion celebrating the UN International Year of the Woman farmer, chaired by Irish Farmers Journal news editor Amy Forde.
Discussing the progress women in agriculture have made in Ireland in recent years, the panel was made up of Irish Farmers' Association (IFA) deputy president Alice Doyle, Ireland's ambassador for the UN's International Year of the Woman Farmer for 2026 Carina Rosengrave and Professor Maura Farrell of University of Galway.
The issue of policies and supports that could drive this progress forward was debated, with Doyle saying she was hopeful that maternity leave could be secured, but was concerned at how this would be realised.
“I think at the moment maternity leave is aspirational, as I cannot see where the funding will come from to enforce it at EU level,” she said.
“It would be massive, but it would have to be introduced at national level and we all know how hard it is to get money divvied up in this country and how hard it is to get money into the sector.
"Given the funding would have to come from the national exchequer, it would take a lot of work. Maternity leave is one of the IFA’s priorities and we will continue to fight for that. If we can get it over the line, it would be massive.”
Decent income
Prof Farrell argued that a greater priority was putting infrastructures in place to deliver the relief services women needed, including childcare and sick pay.
“It’s really difficult to see at the minute, irrespective of maternity leave, which would be amazing. But we need to see the infrastructure around the relief services – are they even there or can we make sure they are available if this comes about?"
Carina Roseingrave referred to generational renewal as a priority for Government, as the momentum of the UN International Year of the Woman Farmer carries forward into 2027.
“The Government has to bring in some package around generational renewal to make farming an attractive option for young people and we need to start talking positively about the industry in order to make it a consideration for future generations, who we have to attract and retain in farming,” she said.
Doyle said her one wish for farmers was for them to have a decent income, which she said would also entice future generations into the industry.
“I’d agree with Carina about the need for positivity and for us to give farming the recognition it deserves. We need to see farming as a profession and a noble one at that.”
Prof Farrell said she was encouraged by the current younger generation of farming women, who had the confidence and energy needed for the next phase of Irish agriculture.
“There’s a cohort of young farmers, many of them women, who are up driving tractors and showcasing what they’re doing on TikTok, that recognise themselves as farmers in a way we didn’t back when we were young,” she added.
“Now it’s up to us all to drive policy to ensure we have a farming future for us all.”
