2026-05-21

101. Deputy Conor D. McGuinness asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht if he is familiar with the farmers' yards initiative; if he sees potential for the initiative as part of wider rural regeneration and rural enterprise development; and if he has engaged with any Government Departments or State agencies regarding its future development. [38389/26]

I ask the Minister of State about the farmers' yard initiative developed - in this country in any case - by Dr. Shane Conway and Dr. Maura Farrell, and piloted successfully in Mountbellew mart. I met recently with Dr. Shane Conway to discuss the model. It uses marts as trusted social spaces for older farmers, combining peer-to-peer support, information sharing, social contact and discussion around issues such as succession, ageing, isolation and farm life. As we discussed earlier, social isolation, particularly in rural Ireland, is reaching crisis levels, so this is a timely initiative. Is the Minister of State familiar with the initiative and does he see its potential as part of rural regeneration and rural enterprise development?

I thank Deputy McGuinness for this very important question. He is right that Dr. Shane Conway in the University of Galway is taking a future-looking approach. I am aware of the initiative and know there is a similar synergy and relationship in the State of Pennsylvania. I certainly hope to explore that further. I will happily talk further to the Deputy away from what is happening in the Chamber because this is a social initiative for older farmers. As the Deputy well knows, farmers do not just retire. They have a lifelong love and grá for the land, farming and agriculture. The Government recognises the importance of this scheme, but also the well-being aspect and the issue of addressing socialisation. I met the Deputy in Waterford. He mentioned the great work being done by community organisations to combat deprivation and social isolation. This is something the Government should look at further. It is the responsibility of the Minister for agriculture in the main, but it is about the farming community and working across the Government. For example, the Minister, Deputy Calleary, referred earlier to Our Rural Future. I am happy to converse further with the Deputy because what we are trying to do is to keep people on the land. It is about succession planning and ensuring we have regeneration and a new uptake of farming. In Pennsylvania, a similar conversation is taking place. The On Feirm Ground initiative provides training for agricultural advisers and service providers. It helps them to recognise the importance of health and well-being. It works also with women's sheds and men's sheds initiatives. We have had conversations during questions previously about the seniors alert scheme.

I thank the Minister of State.

I will conclude on this point. We need to continue this conversation. Perhaps the Department and the committee could do further work on it as well.

I would welcome that engagement. The strength of this initiative is that it is not asking anybody to go where they would not ordinarily go or to go outside their comfort zone. It is meeting people where they are at, where they feel comfortable and where they are turning up anyway. It is not just about isolation among older farmers; it is also about connecting younger farmers and giving people who are still farming but would love to retire a way to find somebody who might take on the enterprise. They can share skills that they have learned throughout their life. It is a critically important initiative. I welcome the Minister of State's engagement. It would be good to discuss this to see how the State and society can support it.

I ask the Minister of State to be very brief as the time is limited.

As the Minister outlined earlier, the approach being taken by the Government in Our Rural Future is one that we are looking to develop in terms of taking action to support further rural development and initiatives such as those we discussed this morning to combat social isolation. I will happily chat further with the Deputy on the matter.