Written answers

Thursday, 12 October 2017

Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine

Sheep Welfare Scheme

Photo of Pearse DohertyPearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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151. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if consideration will be given to revising the reference number allocated to a person (details supplied) in County Donegal in relation to the sheep welfare scheme. [43357/17]

Photo of Michael CreedMichael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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I launched the  Sheep Welfare Scheme in 2016 to contribute to the continued development of animal and health welfare in the sheep sector.  The scheme requires farmers to undertake two actions for a menu of possible actions in order to enhance the standards of animal welfare in the Irish sheep flock. 

Under the scheme the number of breeding ewes returned on Sheep Census for the years 2014 and 2015 is used to establish a reference number for payment for the duration of the scheme.  This approach to setting a  reference number was a prerequisite for agreeing the Scheme with the EU Commission for inclusion in our Rural Development Programme, 2014-2020.

All flock owners are required to return an annual Sheep Census, and this is the basis for the calculation of reference numbers under the Scheme.  The person named has been assigned a reference number of 72, which has been calculated on the following numbers declared by the person named in his Census return:

Census Return - YearBreeding Ewes
201465
201578
Average = Reference Number 72

The person named lodged an appeal regarding his reference number with my Department in August 2017.  This appeal was not upheld and the person named has been advised of this outcome, and of the option to further appeal this finding to the Agriculture Appeals Office. 

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