Minister of State for Agriculture; Pippa Hackett: Senator Pippa Hackett is Minister of State for Agriculture with responsibility for Land Use and Biodiversity. She was appointed to this role in June 2020, only the third senator in the history of the state to be elevated to Cabinet. Senator Hackett was elected to the Agricultural Panel of Seanad Éireann in a by-election on 1 November 2019 and was re-elected in 2020. She is also a former member of Offaly County Council. She holds a BSc in Agriculture from the University of Essex, a postgraduate diploma from University College Dublin, and a PhD from the University of Limerick. Minister Hackett has four children, and along with her husband Mark, she runs a farm (Moat House Farm) near Tullamore in Co Offaly. They produce organic beef and sheep, while they also have some bloodstock and forestry. Moat House Farm is situated on the site of a 12th century Norman motte and bailey identified on the ordnance survey map as "The Moat of Down", hence the business name.
Emeritus Professor John Sweeney: Professor John Sweeney, at Maynooth University since 1978, received his B.Sc. and PhD in the Meteorology and Climatology of Air Pollution from Glasgow University. He has taught also at a number of universities in North America and Africa and has published over 100 scientific papers and authored/edited/co-authored 4 texts on various aspects of climatology and climate change in Ireland. He has served as President of the Irish Meteorological Society, the Geographical Society of Ireland and An Taisce as well as being the Irish representative on a number of European academic bodies. He has contributed to reports of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and is also a regular contributor to print and broadcast media on matters related to climate change science and policy.
Professor Jim McAdam: Professor Jim McAdam OBE started the agroforestry research programme at AFBI’s research station in Loughgall, Co Armagh in 1989. He was head of the Grassland and Plant Science branch in AFBI until retirement in 2018, is a past-Chairman of the Farm Woodland Forum and has participated in a number of national and EU agroforestry-based programmes. His research interests revolved around the potential for silvopasture to help farmers move towards a carbon-neutral livestock industry in a climate-challenged environment. He also has a background, and ongoing interest in sustainable management of upland landscapes to sequester carbon and restore biodiversity and acts as an Environmental Farming Scheme facilitator for Ulster Wildlife in delivering a farmer-based environmental support group.
John Geraghty: John Geraghty (Ireland) John Geraghty has close to three decades of research, development and consulting experience in soil management and crop and livestock integrated systems. John is with the Waterford Institute of Technology where he lectures in agricultural policy, conservation agriculture, sustainable agri-environmental practices and University College Dublin where he is a visiting lecturer in climate resilient agriculture. He is an Associate of the European Conservation Agriculture Federation and the World Association for Soil and Water Conservation.
David O’Connell: David O’Connell is a graduate of agriculture from UCD. He is the managing director of OCAE Consultants Ltd and IAS Laboratories Ltd. The OCAE group provides bloodstock agronomy services, environmental consultancy, agricultural research and a wide range of analytical services including soil, grass, hay, haylage, animal tissue, water and environmental analysis. David specialises in the area of soil and grass mineral deficiencies and imbalances.
Cathal Beale: Cathal Beale hails from Wexford and is a graduate of the Irish National Stud and Godolphin Flying Start Programmes. He holds a BA in English and History and an MSc in Management from the UCD Michael Smurfit Business School. Cathal was Assistant Manager at Forenaghts Stud for seven years before joining the