Derek Nolan (Galway West, Labour)
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To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of flocks of sheep in County Galway that were recorded in 2012 and of these flocks, the number of female sheep that were recorded; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9547/13]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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There is a legal requirement on all flock owners to complete and return the annual Sheep Census form. While the closing date for the return to my Department of completed 2012 Sheep Census forms had initially been fixed for 11 January 2013, I subsequently decided to extend the closing date to 25 January 2013 in order to give farmers sufficient time to complete and return the Census, as I was particularly mindful of the additional data farmers are being asked to provide. Processing of these forms is ongoing and it will be some time yet before the statistics from the 2012 Census will become available; the Deputy will be aware that a comprehensive report is published annually, following processing of the Census returns.

For information, data from the 2011 Sheep Census for County Galway are as follows: