Written answers

Wednesday, 27 January 2010

Department of Agriculture and Food

Sheep Sector

6:00 am

Photo of Bobby AylwardBobby Aylward (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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Question 145: To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food the value of the new grassland sheep scheme over the period 2010-2012; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3685/10]

Photo of Bobby AylwardBobby Aylward (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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Question 168: To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he will announce the final details of the new grassland sheep scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3684/10]

Photo of Brendan SmithBrendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 145 and 168 together.

I am mindful of the particular difficulties being experienced by the Irish sheep sector and I decided late last year on a two-fold approach to address the situation.

In the first instance, I decided to allocate approximately €7 million from the Single Payment National Reserve to 14,000 sheep farmers, these being the only funds to which I had access to in 2009. Subject to a maximum payable area of 15 hectares, this Aid was payable to farmers who declared their sheep under the 2007 and 2008 Sheep Census, declared Mountain Type Grazing under the 2009 Disadvantaged Areas Scheme and who were eligible for, and were in receipt of payment under, the 2009 Disadvantaged Areas Scheme. Payments began on 9 December 2009 and, to date, payments worth in excess of €4.7 million have issued to in excess of 13,000 farmers.

Secondly, I decided to use €18 million of the €25 million in additional funding, for each of the years 2010, 2011 and 2012, to which we gained access following the agreement reached under the CAP Health Check, on a Grassland Scheme to support incomes in the sheep sector. The details of this Scheme are currently being finalised and I expect shortly to be in a position to make an announcement in this regard.

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