Mr. Kevin Kinsella:

In line with my colleagues, I thank all the Deputies for their support for the proposals we have put forward. It is very clear there is broad support for those proposals. That is related to the fact that, first, the people here are in touch with their sheep farmer constituents on the ground and, second, our national sheep committee is also at that same place so there is a general consensus on what is the right thing to do, and there is consensus in the committee in that regard, which is positive.

In a broader sense, it is very important for the sheep sector that we maintain our critical mass. I would be very concerned if we were to move toward or fall below 2 million ewes.

That would be a serious situation because at that stage we would lose factories, markets and customers and we would not get them back because we would not have the critical mass. In order to deal with organisations such as Carrefour, Intermarché or Casino, it is necessary to be at that level.

We lost a meat plant close to where the Chairman lives in the past two years. That was a pretty serious blow and we need to ensure we do not lose another. In that regard, we have clearly identified today what needs to be done, as outlined to the committee. Twenty-two countries across Europe are not silly. They have identified this and taken a decision. It is not an easy decision and it gets complex, as Mr. Pat Smith said. The funding comes from CAP Pillar 1 for those going down a coupled route or, alternatively, it is some combination. We have €580 million per annum in RDP funding over the coming years. There are adequate resources in the system to try to prioritise some level of payment for the sheep sector and that is what we are asking the committee to support.

Mr. Downey highlighted one figure that stood out for me. Professor Alan Renwick from UCD identified that every €1 of support to the sheep sector delivers €2.70 in overall economic output in the rural areas we are all trying to maintain and support positively.

Senator Ó Domhnaill asked about farm assist. I do not have the precise figures for the number of sheep farmers eligible for farm assist; we can get those. There is an increase in these remote rural areas where sheep farming is important. That is directly linked back to the reduction in the level of direct payments that have gone in in the past. I refer in particular to REPS and the disadvantaged area cuts that a number of members of the committee clearly said need to be addressed.

Senator Comiskey and a number of others asked about the Northern Ireland issue. On sheep, it is very specific. There are two markets here. There is one for breeding animals coming from the Chairman's county and another of other counties. Under current EU regulations, live breeding animals may not be exported to another EU country unless they have been tested and the flock has been certified as TSE free, which is almost impossible in an Irish context. As Mr. Downey said, we need discussions with our Northern colleagues to resolve that trade issue whereby we are prevented from trading on the cattle and sheep side with Northern Ireland in an uninhibited way that can let that market free up. We need to bear in mind that approximately 400,000 or 500,000 lambs come south for slaughter and we cannot send our breeding animals back up north. That is not acceptable and needs to be addressed. We have looked at it very closely and it is very difficult to address within the regulation. It needs more attention.

I thank the Chairman for this opportunity. We very much appreciate the support the committee has given for additional supports for the sheep sector.