Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) deputy president, Alice Doyle, rocked up to the recent Diageo / Boortmalt Irish Malting Barley Excellence Awards and proceeded to deliver a series of razor sharp messages that hit home with all the right people in all the right ways.
She was courteous to her hosts but also managed to communicate a series of policy priorities that get to the very heart of the key challenges facing Ireland’s tillage sector.
It was wonderful to hear; no waffle, just a captivating presentation that truly reflected the mood and needs of tillage farmers the length of Ireland in the here and now.
Too many of our farming leaders take far too long to get to the point and have real difficulty in communicating the key messages that they want to address. This is not the case with Alice Doyle.
Alice Doyle
I was subsequently informed that Alice Doyle was a school teacher back in the day.
In my own case, I would have been a great guy for trotting out the ‘dog ate my homework’ excuse, if and when required.
Something tells me that Alice would have had ‘zero tolerance’ for this line of approach while in control of her classroom. And rightly so!
I felt it appropriate to flag-up the IFA deputy president’s performance at the malting barley awards for two reasons.
Firstly, I was genuinely impressed with what she had and to say. And, secondly, today (Friday, March 8) marks International Women’s Day.
I so look forward to the time when the focus this calendar date can be switched to another issue.
I make this point because of a deeply felt conviction that everyone in society should be treated equally and such a day would not be needed.
The fact that a gender gap still remains such a core issue across almost every facet of life, with women taking the brunt of this reality, is truly shocking.
Every facet of society must double down in their efforts to recognise the critically important role that women can, and must, play in all our lives. And this commitment must be one of true import.
George Orwell coined the famous phrase ‘all animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others’.
I sense that many organisations still take this policy line in relation to their dealings with women, across the board.
It’s an approach that smacks of total hypocrisy and one that must be stamped out with immediate effect.