Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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1. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his proposals to support sheep farmers. [11759/23]

Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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I have to register my disappointment that the Minister is not here to take questions. I know he is out of the country but we had agreed to a rota swap on this occasion to facilitate the Minister. I do not think it is acceptable that another rota swap was not offered in this instance. My first question is to ask the Minister his proposals to support our sheep farmers, who are under enormous strain at the moment and are facing what could potentially be an existential crisis.

Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael)
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Apologies from the Minister, Deputy McConalogue, for whom I am filling in today. Both I and the Government are fully committed to maintaining a viable sheep sector as an integral element of a balanced regional economy. Sheep farmers are very committed to producing a world-class, safe and sustainable product, and the Government recognises that. Market prices are a commercial matter between suppliers and buyers, and the Government has no role in determining commodity prices in the sheep sector. I recognise the pressure sheep farmers are under as a result of the downturn in the markets over recent months.

I have met sheep farmers and representatives throughout the country in recent weeks and have heard their concerns at first hand. My Department provides significant support to the sector under the new Common Agricultural Policy, CAP, strategic plan, or CSP, both through a targeted scheme for sheep farmers, called the sheep improvement scheme, and through the broad range of schemes in the CSP. More than 19,000 applications have been submitted to the new sheep improvement scheme. The scheme replaces the previous sheep welfare scheme but shares the same aim of improving animal health and welfare in the sector, with a 20% increase in the ewe payment, from €10 to €12, compared with the previous scheme.

More broadly, the CSP provides almost €10 billion in supports for farmers over the period to 2027. Sheep farmers are well placed to avail of several other schemes in addition to the sheep improvement scheme, including the organics scheme and the agri-climate rural environment scheme, ACRES, for which we have secured places for all 46,000 farmers who applied.

Working with the Minister, Deputy McConalogue, we have asked our officials in the Department to examine what potential supports, if any, could be put in place to support sheep farmers in light of the recent challenges. Budgets for 2023 have been set and locked in place. Changes to this will require careful assessment as well as diverting funds from previously agreed areas. We have a sheep sector in Ireland, both lowland and upland, that we can be proud of and the Government is determined to ensure there is a long-term and sustainable future for that sector.

Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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The Minister of State says the Government has no role in the market, but the Government absolutely has a role in ensuring our primary producers are protected in that market and that there is fairness and transparency across the supply chain. The €2 additional payment per ewe in the new sheep welfare scheme is clearly insufficient. It does not even cover the increase in costs sheep farmers have faced. The Minister of State mentioned other payments. He specifically mentioned ACRES. That is a payment for a service for farmers who do environmental works. That does not recognise whatsoever the particular challenges of sheep farmers. I welcome that the Minister of State says he is examining and exploring options to support farmers. I put it to him that one of those options must be the Brexit adjustment reserve fund, which has not been utilised sufficiently for farmers, who have been directly impacted by Brexit. Is that a route the Department is examining?

Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael)
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This is an important issue and I am delighted it is the first priority question. I will answer the Deputy's last point first. We are looking at every option but, pardon the pun, the bar to qualify for the BAR, the Brexit adjustment reserve, is very high. You have to prove a direct link to the impact from Brexit.

The Deputy's earlier point was about markets. As Minister of State with responsibility for new market development, we have made huge strides in making sure we continue to gain more access to more markets around the world and increased access in the markets we are in. Last year, we gained access to the US market. I will be in Washington in May to look at progressing further how we build relationships with key customers across the sector. We have important markets like China where we continue to do important work on increasing access. Markets are a key priority for us. We can talk about all the schemes we want but, ultimately, sheep farmers want to be paid a top price for their product, which they deserve and for which we continue to strive in the Department.

Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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I agree with the Minister of State on that point but I also contend that sheep farmers urgently need direct financial support. A difficulty when it comes to prices is that one of the products sheep farmers produce, wool, is currently worthless. I raised this question on numerous occasions with the Minister, Deputy McConalogue, and he told me to wait for the wool feasibility study. Rather than answers, that study produced questions and now we have to wait for a number of other bodies to complete more deliberations. Will the Minister of State outline the timeframe for the implementation of the recommendations in the wool feasibility study and direct actions the Government intends to take to ensure farmers can receive a price for that important, valuable product, which is the wool of their sheep?

Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael)
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The wool council is an industry-led approach. I understand it met before Christmas and is due to meet again soon. We will continue to work closely with it in its deliberations and on recommendations that come from there. Other work we have done in this area, including the support for early stage producer organisations, which will be introduced later this year, will strengthen the position of sheep farmers in the supply chain. As we both agree, this is ultimately about doing everything we can to strengthen the hand of farmers and getting the best price for their product. We recognise the pressures on sheep farmers' margins are largely because of the input costs, with those costs being high as a result of the invasion of Ukraine. This is a time of year when sheep farmers, in the middle of a busy lambing period, are facing significant costs for feed and fertiliser in particular. Those are the challenges and we are examining every opportunity to support sheep farmers through this difficult time.