A GENDER equality issue is holding up the appointment of a farm representative to the sheep section of Bord Bia over recent months, according to Galway IFA Chairman, Stephen Canavan.

He said that the vacancy in Bord Bia had not been filled since last Spring and the word coming back to IFA was that ‘a gender equality issue’ was holding up the process.

“This is a completely unsatisfactory situation for the country’s 37,500 sheep farmers and it really is doing the sector no favours that this position hasn’t been filled.

“The word that has filtered back to IFA is that the position is not being filled because of a gender equality issue – it is simply not good enough to leave this position vacant on that basis,” Stephen Canavan told Farming Tribune.

He said that he wasn’t happy either about the level of promotions for Irish lamb being delivered by Bord Bia in other countries so far this year.

“We have an absolutely top-quality premium product, but I am not satisfied about how this has been promoted this year in our major market countries like France,” said Stephen Canavan.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.

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