Offaly farmer Séamus Boland to take key European role

On 4 December, Offaly farmer and Irish Rural Link CEO Séamus Boland was elected as the Civil Society Organisations' Group of the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) designated candidate for the next EESC presidency.

The official election will take place at the renewed EESC assembly in October 2025.

If successful, Séamus will be the first Irish person to hold this position.

The EESC, comprising 329 members from the 27 EU member states, represents various sectors of society, such as farming, the social economy, the voluntary sector and others.

Séamus, currently serving his second term as president of Group III - the Civil Society Organisations Group has represented Irish rural and community development on EESC for 13 years.

Evolved

Séamus is also a farmer. He left school at 13 years old to work on the farm in Ballycumber, Co Offaly, which he says has evolved through the years.

“We produced pigs, we produced milk, we were dairy for nearly 25 years. We became a milk, beef and sheep farm for 20 years. For the last five years, we just fatten the cattle and keep sheep,” said Séamus.

In 2012, Séamus became heavily involved with politics in Europe upon his appointment of CEO of Irish Rural Link.

“Obviously, there’s a lot of European connection with anything rural, and in 2012 I was appointed by community and voluntary pillar and the Irish Government,” he said.

Under the heading 'Europe A Safe Place for Freedom and Democracy', Séamus announced four priorities for his candidature:

“Strengthening the voice of civil society in Europe has always been a passion of mine,” he said. “I believe we have a really strong political representation out there, but the actual voice of the community and voluntary sector needs to be heard.

“As in all disasters, even during COVID, the voluntary sector are the first responders. The Irish Government have always had a big place for civil society in Ireland, but, in Europe, it’s more disparate. The EESC is designed to provide that voice.

“In terms of climate change, this is having a major effect on rural communities,” he said. “Irish Rural Link has been doing a lot of work with farmers in this area. Climate change needs to be managed with farmers, not on top of farmers.”

During his presidency, Séamus initiated a joint open letter with Civil Society Europe, calling on the EU institutions to take concrete measures to implement an open, transparent and regular dialogue with civil society organisations in all policy areas. The open letter was signed by 156 signatories from 26 member states and issued in January 2024.

"We've made a lot of progress and it would be my job to continue that," he said.