Erin McGreehan (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I ask the Deputy Leader to arrange a debate on the future of the Irish sheep sector.

As we all know, sheep are synonymous with our landscape, heritage and tourism. In 2020, only 7% of sheep farmers were under the age of 35. The average age of a sheep farmer is 56 years of age. We are not encouraging young people to get into a really important agricultural sector.

I wish to highlight the huge prejudice against sheep farming in the new Common Agricultural Policy scheme as at present 15 cows equals 100 sheep as a livestock unit. Therefore, a farmer will receive €3,350 for 15 cows whereas a farmer with 100 ewes will only receive €1,200. Sheep farming is hugely intensive, is mainly done by older people and traditional farming methods are used. Between dipping, dagging, dosing and clipping, being a sheep farmer involves a lot of manual work and this work can only be done by using manual labour.

I firmly believe that the sheep sector needs to be protected so an action plan is very necessary as it will attract young farmers to the sector. Everyone in the sheep sector awaits the introduction of a wool council and such a council is badly needed.

I wish to note that today, RTÉ Junior launched a programme called "Lámh Signs", which is the first ever television programme that uses lámh signs. Lámh is a unique Irish method for neurodivergent children and families to communicate. Many children with neurodivergence use lámh signs and it is great see to see the national broadcaster dedicate an entire programme to using lámh signs. That means that lámh signs will be highlighted every single day and a few times a day as the programme shows little children using lámh signs.