Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)

We are discussing the upland sheep scheme now. More than €5 million has been paid down. We have introduced schemes that are altogether administratively simple, under which we do not have a necessary inspection process that costs money. I refer to the new €18 million scheme. Department officials were engaged in widespread consultation with each of the farming organisations. We sought a balance between the needs of the sheep farmers on hill land and low land. I believe one of the first things we must do is arrest the decline in the flock numbers in the country.

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