Seán Kyne (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister. I spoke on this matter a few weeks ago and called for a debate, so I welcome his attendance and interest in the sector. I also welcome the representatives from farming organisations. The Irish Natura and Hill Farmers Association, INHFA, the Irish Farmers' Association, IFA, and the Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers Association, ICSA, have called for some time for additional supports to compensate for rising inputs and lower prices, notwithstanding the improvement in the last few weeks. I reiterate that call. There was a lot in the Minster's speech but he did not say there will be additional supports provided specifically for the sheep sector. I welcome the fact that 46,000 farmers will be in the agri-climate rural environment scheme, ACRES, which will benefit many sheep farmers, as well as the improvement in the sheep scheme. Organics also has seen a huge increase in the budget. Regarding this specific sector and the challenges it faces this year, there is a need for an increase in support and whatever mechanism is needed for direct payment to sheep farmers across the country. I call for that again. I welcome the Minister's comment about Bord Bia campaigns and the development of new markets. There was success in the US markets recently. The Minister of State, Deputy Heydon, whose responsibility is the development of new markets, will, I understand, be visiting Washington next month to build on those relationships between customers and distributors.

The Minister said he wants to see the sheep sector protected for current and future generations and be an attractive proposition for young people. Profitability is a key component of that. For many, farming has been a vocation but perhaps for younger people it is more of a business and it is therefore important that business is viable. If one looks at many parts of my region, the hill farms in Connemara, for example, it is quite a specific skill. If you put a lowland farmer up on the hills with a dog, the dog would get confused and the farmer would also get confused even bringing sheep down from the hills. Shepherding in particular is a skill on hills and hefting is a skill passed down from generation to generation. The worry, particularly on smaller hill farms, is that those people will not come through in the future in a sector that is not profitable. I spoke to a farmer in Connemara recently who is looking into sheep breeds that do not have wool and do not require shearing, of which there are a small number of breeds, because of poor returns, the cost of shearing and the fact that dagging would be unnecessary, along with the risk of maggots that goes with having wool. These are responses to the challenges farmers in those areas face.

I welcome the initiatives in relation to the Wool Council. There is huge potential in the use of wool. I hope the new council can examine the potential for fertiliser pellets, wool pellets and matting and sheep wool logs for biomass to biochar initiatives. There is great potential in that area that will come in over time but the most important thing the sheep sector needs now is a cash stimulus as soon as possible. I ask that the Minister continue to raise this matter in his department and with his Government colleagues.