Written answers

Wednesday, 20 April 2016

Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine

Sheepmeat Sector

Photo of Michael Healy-RaeMichael Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent)
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168. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his views on a matter (details supplied) regarding small sheep farmers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7441/16]

Photo of Simon CoveneySimon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Supports for the sector include direct payments and a range of measures under the Rural Development Programme to support environmentally sustainable production, and also improve efficiency and profitability on farms to help to address this efficiency gap. These include the Basic Payments Scheme, which incorporated payments under the former Grassland Sheep Scheme, provided exclusively for the sheep sector.

In addition, a range of schemes under the Rural Development Programme (RDP) 2014 -2020 have been designed to support the sheep sector. Sheep farmers continue to be significant beneficiaries from the Areas of Natural Constraints (ANC) scheme. The ANC Scheme is worth €195 million annually to some 100,000 farmers and in excess of €1.3 billion over the lifetime of the RDP.

Funding has also been made available under the RDP for the Green Low Carbon Agri Environment Scheme (GLAS). Access to GLAS is on a tiered basis with those in Tier 1 receiving priority. Tier 1 participants are mainly those with Priority Environment Assets, which include Natura Land and Commonage. Many sheep farmers are commonage shareholders and will qualify for Tier 1 access. Some 38,000 farmers have been approved under the first two tranches of the Scheme.

Increased provision has also been made for improving efficiency and profitability in sheep production under Knowledge Transfer Groups under the RDP. Building on the successful Sheep Technology Adoption Programme, it is expected that the Sheep Knowledge Transfer Groups will commence shortly.

A range of capital supports for sheep farmers is also available under the TAMS II scheme, including: solid floor housing with or without penning, slatted floor housing, mobile sheep handling facilities, fixed sheep handling facilities, replacement of sheep slats in addition to many other capital investments available to all livestock enterprises such as manure pits, silage pits etc.

Additionally approval has been sought by DAFM from the European Commission to include sheep fencing as an eligible item of expenditure in the TAMS II.

My Department also funds the activities of Teagasc, Bord Bia and Sheep Ireland in the areas of research, advice, education, breed improvement and marketing and promotion.

In relation to a further direct payment per ewe, any coupled payment would require a redistribution of existing funds and would involve cuts in other farm payments from Pillar 1. Any nationally funded payment would have to be considered in the context of exchequer funding availability and also State aid. Any consideration of further funding for the sheep sector under the RDP could only be considered in the context of an overall review of the implementation of the RDP and would require a re-distribution of funds within the RDP.

The sheep sector is an important component of our agriculture sector and the third largest farming sector in Ireland with over 34,000 producers and 2015 proved to be another good year for the sheep sector. A combination of higher carcase weight (up 1.9%) and higher factory prices (up 1.5%) meant that output value of the sector increased by over 3%. Total sheepmeat exports increased by an estimated 5% to €230 million between 2014 and 2015. At farm level, prices reached highs not seen in five years and thankfully these strong prices have continued into this year.

Increasing consumer demand and market access is a key component in driving the growth in the sheep farming sector in addition to improving technical efficiencies at farm level. My Department continually works on securing new markets for all Irish agri-food products including sheep meat. In addition last year Commissioner Hogan set up the Sheepmeat Reflections Group at EU level to examine the sheep sector and the support it needs going forward in order to continue to make an important contribution to agricultural output. My Department is participating in this group and I expect the outcome of this exercise to be reflected in future deliberations on EU policy in the sheep sector.

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