Mr. Kevin Comiskey:

I thank the committee for the invitation to explain about the sheep sector and the crisis we are in at the moment. It is compounded by the collapse in the wool trade. Shearing is a key management practice on sheep farms for the benefit, health and welfare of the flock. It costs about €8 to present a 3 kg fleece rolled and packed on a farm in good condition for the merchants. That costs farmers around €21 million annually. Following a feasibility study that was carried out, the Wool Council has been established and one meeting of the group has taken place so far. There are multiple uses for this product and it meets all the environmental credentials, which must be a driving force to maximise its use. To achieve this and reduce the processing costs, it is important wool is presented in optimum condition from farms. I emphasised that at the first meeting of the council. There was full agreement in the room that to get a reward for farmers, that is where the payment should be made. Shearing costs must be directly supported to incentivise farmers carrying out this measure and to ensure wool is presented in good condition.

When I was first elected as chairman, I had been on the sheep committee for six years. The issue of dog control was a big thing and was always on the agenda. I knew it was a big issue, and it has become an even bigger issue since then. I have witnessed some horrific cases and I have visited horrific scenes. It is all down to irresponsible dog ownership. The lack of Government action is allowing this to happen, while sheep farmers are having their flocks savaged by dogs almost daily. The members will all have heard about these attacks on sheep farms. They have a wide impact not just on the farm and the flock. They also have a mental impact on the families. I have visited farms and have sat round tables with young children in such circumstances, and it is a horrific thing.

The IFA has set out our demands in this area very clearly. We must have a single national database for all dogs correlating licensing and microchipping and identifying the person responsible for the dog. At a minimum, there must be alignment of the existing licensing and microchipping records to one central access point. There must be full enforcement of microchipping and licensing obligations of dog owners for all dogs, stronger powers of enforcement for dog wardens and the Garda, and clarity around these powers. That is where I think the main focus will be. The regulation will fall at the first fence if we do not get enforcement. Enforcement will be a key issue in this. Stronger sanctions must be put in place to reflect the horrific damage these dogs do on farms.

Following a request from the Minister, Deputy McConalogue, a meeting of the Food Vision beef and sheep group was convened. The Minister was aware of the meetings we had in Athlone and throughout the country highlighting the crisis in the sector and asked for the group to be convened. We met on 17 February to discuss the market situation in the sheep sector, with presentations from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, An Bord Bia and Teagasc on current supports and activities to inform stakeholder discussions on what more can be done to support the sector in the current circumstances. As our president has pointed out, support is vitally needed, and that €30 per ewe payment is part of that vital support. The crisis in the sector was outlined in detail at the meeting. Sheep farmers' margins have been effectively wiped out, dropping 81% to just €7 per ewe in 2022. Based on the presentations from both Teagasc and An Bord Bia, there is limited opportunity for any significant increase in 2023. We are three months into the year and we are well behind on the price in 2023, so we could be looking at a price of less than €7 per ewe this year. This crisis can only be alleviated by immediate direct supports for sheep farmers from Government, and we are lobbying strongly for that support.

One of the terms of reference of the Food Vision beef and sheep group is to deliver on the objectives of Food Vision 2030, and within that there are a number of issues that must be resolved, addressed and delivered on for the sheep sector. These include more market price transparency of prices paid weekly; the provision of an export benchmark price tracker for lamb; addressing the issue of imported live lambs and sheep meat in carcass form and its impact on prices Irish farmers receive; and the labelling of sheep meat and the controls in place. At all the meetings we have held recently in Athlone, Tuam, Tinahely and throughout the country, these issues were raised as major concerns by farmers on the ground. It is critical that returns from the marketplace are maximised. Sheep meat factories can and must do more to reflect the full value of the sheep meat we produce and the exacting standards it is produced to. An Bord Bia has a key role to play in this area and must be more proactive in delivering higher value volume markets for Irish sheep meat. Indeed, we have seen that the US market is available. We have to get the factories up and running and get the lamb out if the market is available and accessible. The factories have a big role to play in that respect as well. However, markets alone are not enough to provide economic viability and sustainability on our farms. Sheep farmers must be provided with immediate direct supports for the ewes on their farms.

Sheep farming is the second-largest farm sector in the country, carried out on more than 36,000 farms. The sector generated an export value of €476 million in 2022, an increase of 17% for the country, while at the same time margins on sheep farms were slashed by 81% to just €7 per ewe or just over €500 a year for the average sheep flock, with prospects for this year of similar margins. That is around one week's wages for 12 months' work. It is not sustainable on any farm.

The Minister asked for the Food Vision beef and sheep group to convene as a matter of urgency to discuss the crisis in the sheep sector. We were asked at the meeting to make our submissions on what is needed for sheep farmers. The meeting was held three weeks ago, and I and members of the committee hand-delivered the submission to Agriculture House two weeks ago. The Minister and his Government colleagues have had the time to consider the submissions. We now need to hear what supports are forthcoming to get confidence in the system. There is absolutely no confidence in the sector at the moment and we need a response from the Minister and Government.

Direct targeted support of €30 per ewe to support the economic viability of the sector must be provided immediately. Store lamb finishers are a vital outlet for hill sheep farmers, especially in County Leitrim where I come from and right across the western seaboard. Hill lambs come from the west along the hills and mainly go east. These finishers play a key role in production supply systems. Direct supports are critical to maintain this outlet for hill sheep farmers. Farmers must be directly supported to offset the cost of shearing and incentivised to present wool in optimum condition to facilitate further processing.

This is a brief outline of where we are. The sheep sector is in crisis. We need a clear indication from the Government to put confidence back in the sector. Saying that it is monitoring the situation is not enough.