Greens share vision for rural Ireland at Ploughing Championships

For the third year in a row, the Green Party has a stall at the National Ploughing Championships, where elected representatives and members will meet thousands of attendees to speak about issues of importance to rural Ireland. Green measures supporting sustainable agriculture, nature restoration and rural public transport, among others, have proven to be hugely successful in this Government term. Senior party figures look forward to meeting the crowds and discussing the Greens’ strong focus on supporting families and communities in rural areas.

Green Party leader, Minister Roderic O’Gorman spoke about what the Green Party offers rural Ireland;

“The Green Party has been a strong support to farmers and rural Ireland by developing organic farming, the largest investment in forestry in the history of the State and expanding rural public transport to areas that were previously neglected. Farmers are on the frontline of climate action and nature restoration because they see the impact of climate change every day. The Green vision is for thriving, prosperous family farms in a healthy environment.”

Green Party deputy leader, Senator Róisín Garvey called on people to come along to the festival;

"I invite everyone to come along to the Ploughing Championship, Europe's largest outdoor festival. Even if you're not from the countryside, you should come along and see the interests and challenges of rural life. This is a great celebration of rural Ireland and will be a fantastic couple of days!"

Minister for Land Use and Biodiversity, Pippa Hackett said;

“I am hugely excited for the National Ploughing Championships 2024 and I’m really looking forward to meeting as many people as possible over the course of the three days, whether it’s at the Green Party stand, in the Organic Village or in the queue for a breakfast roll or a burger! The Ploughing is a great opportunity catch up with old friends and colleagues, and to make new connections as well.  

I’d encourage visitors to call to the Green Party stand to say hello and to chat about our vision for farming and our vision for rural Ireland more generally.  I believe we’ve done a huge amount for farmers and for the wider countryside since entering Government in 2020, through initiatives like the Organic Farming Scheme, the multiple European Innovation partnerships we’ve funded and the red clover and multispecies swards measures – all of which are paying farmers to produce food in a way that goes hand in hand with nature. TAMS Solar has proven very popular and is having a real impact in reducing farmers’ energy bills, and in recent weeks we have seen the highest numbers of licence approvals for new planting under the €1.3 billion Forestry Programme, as well as huge interest in the small-scale Native Tree Area Scheme.”

The Green Party stand can be found at Unit 37, Block 5, Row 11 in the Hub.