Willie Penrose (Longford-Westmeath, Labour)
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Question 544: To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food the number of sheep that were registered in the sheep census carried out in December 2008; the number of breeding ewes here which has been ascertained in the said census; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17964/09]

Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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Census returns received by my Department indicate that at December 2008 Ireland had in the order of 3.1 million sheep (3,090,466) including almost 80,000 breeding rams. These figures are based on the returns received from 94% of the 37,248 sheep flock-keepers that were on this Department's database at that time. While the census does not record breeding ewes as such, it is estimated that approximately 75% of the National flock were in this category.