Call made in Waterford for backing Farmers' Yards initiative

A Waterford TD has called for the Government to back the Farmers’ Yards initiative in a bid to tackle rural isolation.

Sinn Féin's, Deputy Conor McGuinness said the Government must urgently engage with and support the Farmers’ Yards initiative as part of a wider national response to growing social isolation in rural Ireland.

Speaking in the Dáil during an exchange with Minister of State Jerry Buttimer, Deputy McGuinness raised the initiative, developed by Dr Shane Conway and Dr Maura Farrell and piloted successfully in Mountbellew Mart.

The model uses marts as trusted social spaces for older farmers, combining peer support, social contact, information sharing and conversations around succession, ageing, isolation and farm life.

“Social isolation in rural Ireland is becoming a very serious issue and Government policy has simply not kept pace with the scale of the problem," said Deputy McGuinness.

"In many rural communities, people are increasingly cut off, particularly older people and older farmers," he added.

Commenting that public services have been centralised he also said rural pubs and post offices have disappeared and that transport links are weak.

Deputy McGuinness said community infrastructure has been allowed to decline over many years.

“What makes the Farmers’ Yards initiative so important is that it understands rural life and rural culture," he said.

"It is not asking people to go somewhere unfamiliar or outside their comfort zone," he added.

"It is meeting people where they already are, in spaces they trust and feel comfortable in."

Highlighting that marts have always been social spaces, as well as economic spaces, he said they are also locations where conversations happen naturally and where people maintain connections with their community.

Deputy McGuinness said the initiative has significant potential to support generational renewal and succession planning in farming.

“There are many older farmers who would like to retire or step back gradually but who fear isolation, loss of identity or the complete severing of their connection to farming life," he said.

"At the same time, there are younger farmers looking for opportunities, guidance and support," he added.

"Initiatives like this can help bridge that gap by creating relationships, passing on skills and experience and supporting smoother succession within farming communities."

Acknowledging that the Minister of State had responded positively in the Dáil, he said the Government must move "beyond warm words".

“The Government acknowledged in the chamber that this is something that should be explored further, but rural Ireland has heard plenty of acknowledgements over the years while isolation and loneliness continue to deepen," he said.

“What is needed now is practical Government support, proper engagement with the people behind the initiative and a serious cross-departmental strategy around rural social isolation," he added.

Deputy McGuinness went on to comment: "This cannot simply be viewed as a health issue in isolation. It is connected to rural decline, the hollowing out of communities, lack of services, demographic change and the future sustainability of family farming itself.

“The State needs to start recognising that protecting rural communities means more than talking about regeneration in policy documents.

"It means investing in the social fabric of rural life before more communities reach breaking point.”