Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Senator again for raising the issue. The sheep welfare scheme has been a popular one among sheep farmers. It is regarded as being straightforward, accessible, practical and very useful in terms of the measures contained in it. The funding has been welcomed. There has been a request for additional funding, for which Senator McGreehan has strongly advocated, over the last couple of years. Thankfully, over the last three to four years sheep prices have been much stronger than they have been in recent years. We need them to be like that all of the time and we need to ensure farmers get a fair return for the work they put in, whether in the Cooley Mountains, in the lowlands or in Donegal.

When the previous CAP programme was launched in 2014, there was no sheep programme in it. This CAP, which I have brought in, has a sheep programme plugged in from the very start at a rate of €12. The fact there was not one there at the start of the last CAP but that it evolved over the course of that CAP programme shows that schemes can evolve and be strengthened over a CAP programme.

I will certainly be looking to see what capacity I have to further improve supports for the sheep sector. If one looks at the last year, the fodder scheme, in particular, was an important scheme to support sheep farmers and sheep farmers very much availed of it. I thank Senator McGreehan for raising this issue today and I look forward to continuing to work with her on how we can support the sector.