Brian Ó Domhnaill (Fianna Fail)
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I acknowledge the presence of the new Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Deputy Andrew Doyle, and congratulate him on his appointment.I had the honour of serving with him on the last Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine, of which he was the Chairman during the last Dáil and Seanad terms. He did an excellent job and I have no doubt that bringing his knowledge and professionalism to his new role, he will perform excellently as Minister of State also. I wish him well in Agriculture House with his colleagues and the new senior Minister there.

The issue I raise today relates to the sheep sector, with which the Minister of State will be very familiar coming from County Wicklow which has a large sheep population. There is a large sheep population in the Republic and, in fact, there are more sheep than people living in it. We are highly dependent on the sheep sector as part of the Food Wise 2025 strategy, agrifood exports and live exports. It is an important part of the farm fabric, particularly in the west where the land is more marginal and sheep farmers struggle to make ends meet. The margins in sheep farming tend to be low. I was heartened by the commitment in the programme for Government of approximately €25 million for a sheep premium scheme like the old headage scheme. I welcome that. The reason I table today's Commencement matter is to give the Minister of State an opportunity to outline what stage it is at. Obviously, it will take a budgetary commitment in budget 2017, which will be later this year, to make provision for that. How will the funding be ring-fenced? Will it be a premium flat rate per ewe? Without pre-empting any consultation, what is anticipated?

It is important to consult the sector. While there the main farming organisations, there are also organisations which are newly established, such as the Irish Natura and Hill Farmers Association, which have made a number of specific recommendations around young farmers and the equalisation of payments. Is it envisaged that there will be consultation with organisations like that? There are the larger farm organisations, with which it is also important to consult. I call on the Minister of State to ensure that if a payment is made available, it does not discriminate against or in favour of lowland or upland. There should be some form of flat rate payment. As there are additional constraints on farming on marginal and hill land, will anything be brought into consideration in regard to that? Will there be anything for younger farmers to ensure they are not precluded from obtaining the payment for all of their flocks, given some restriction? They are issues that will be delved into as the year goes on. Nevertheless, I have tabled the matter at this early stage to provide the Minister with the opportunity to ensure that a wide-ranging consultation takes place.

Andrew Doyle (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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This is the first opportunity I have had to address the Upper House. I am delighted to do so on a subject in which I have some interest, indeed a vested interest as a flock owner. I am very pleased also that a former colleague on the Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine has raised the matter. On the committee, we proved beyond doubt that it is possible to work constructively across party and non-party lines for the betterment of the sector. I will set out the official reply which gives the broad outline. In the follow up contribution, I can discuss the flat rate and so on.

The programme for Government commits to the provision of €25 million for the support of the sheep sector in budget 2017. This provision recognises the commitment of the Government to the development of the sheepmeat sector which is an important element of the national economy. The sector generated an output value of €320 million and exports in excess of €230 million in 2015. The sector also makes a vital contribution to the economy by supporting 34,000 farm families directly as well as by providing several thousand jobs indirectly in rural areas.This commitment is also additional to the support provided through the green low-carbon agri-environment scheme, GLAS, through the areas of natural constraint scheme and through the targeted agricultural modernisation schemes, TAMS. The inclusion of a TAMS measure to support sheep fencing was recently announced. This approval, which followed lengthy discussions between the Department and the European Commission, will provide a significant boost to sheep farmers, especially young farmers who wish to commence sheep production by providing them the means to invest significantly in the necessary infrastructure for their holdings.

The supports provided through these measures are a recognition of the critical importance of the sheep sector, which makes a vital contribution to the economic viability rural areas through farming, processing and marketing as well as playing a central role in shaping the landscape, both in more intensive farming areas and in areas where more marginal land dominates. This scheme has the potential to deliver targeted support to an important sector of agriculture. It is my objective that the scheme delivers a long-term cumulative benefit to the sheep sector.

Support from the Department for the vital work of Teagasc and Sheep Ireland is critically important. Developing new and more lucrative markets is also a key challenge. In this regard, my Department works to develop market opportunities by opening new markets and supports the work of Bord Bia in the promotion of sheepmeat in domestic and EU markets. My Department has been engaged in consultations with farm bodies to inform its work on the detail of the new sheep scheme. I took note of the Senator’s point about the smaller representative organisations which have been in contact. Any such scheme will have to be approved by the European Commission under the rural development programme. It must meet the exacting requirements of the rural development regulations in compensating farmers for any actions undertaken on the basis of costs incurred or income foregone.

Furthermore, in any rural development scheme, actions taken by farmers must go beyond the normal standards of husbandry practice before they can be considered as an eligible cost incurred by a farmer. The challenge will be to develop a simple and practical scheme which makes a real contribution to the development of the sector, while meeting all of the EU requirements. There is also an obligation on us to ensure any scheme that provides for support to sheep farmers is targeted at improving on-farm practices which will have lasting and cumulative benefits to sheep farmers and the national flock.

I am also aware of the need to ensure the scheme is made available to as many sheep farmers as possible. In that context, it is important that the different systems of production of both lowland sheep farmers and hill sheep farmers are taken into account in any such scheme.

On the basis of the engagement with farm bodies to date, there is a reasonable degree of consensus that article 33 of the rural development regulation, which provides for support for animal welfare measures, is the most appropriate vehicle for supporting the sector in this instance. I am particularly anxious to ensure the scheme includes measures suitable for the differing production systems in both hill and lowland flocks.

At this stage, the Department has had an initial meeting with the European Commission and is working through the detail of the proposed scheme. The examination of the proposals by the Commission will be forensic, focusing on ensuring compliance with the relevant regulations, additionality and value for money. As a result of these discussions, departmental officials are working intensively on ensuring any scheme meets the requirements of the Commission. It is expected there will be further ongoing and detailed communication with the Commission on the scheme’s details.

The scheme will also have to be presented to the monitoring committee of Ireland’s rural development programme prior to final submission to the European Commission. My focus is on delivering a scheme which can maximise the number of participants and deliver tangible benefits to the sheep sector in its impact as regards on-farm practices. This scheme has the potential to deliver targeted support to an important sector of agriculture. It is my objective to design and implement a scheme that delivers a long-term cumulative benefit to the sheep sector. It is important the measures are tangible and give a real benefit while the scheme is kept simple as possible. The €25 million can cover a flat rate, if it is the preferred option, without having it either frontloaded or capped at €200 or €250 per head.The budget allows for it to cover all breeding sheep in the system at the moment.

Brian Ó Domhnaill (Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister of State for his comprehensive reply and I agree with everything he said. Value for money should be to the fore. When seeking efficiencies under a scheme and making sure the available money reaches the recipient, flat-rate payments are probably the easiest to administer and, I presume, most farmers would avail of them and find them beneficial. Using such payments would also reduce paperwork costs and the administrative burden for farmers.

Andrew Doyle (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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With regard to development markets, when Bord Bia or departmental officials participate on trade missions, they will identify traceability as a key issue, particularly for the US. The dreaded tagging has not been discussed but it will be in the mix at some stage. There have been submissions on it. The focus currently is on animal welfare. I know from experience that a lame animal does not put on flesh and, therefore, does not make a farmer money. A simple measure can be taken to address that. Fencing provides access to young farmers to the scheme because they may be starting out with an underdeveloped property or a green field site that was not used for sheep farming previously. One can never have enough good fencing on a sheep farm. It is the key to grass management and good neighbours. Those issues need to be focused on to generate a tangible benefit.