Michael Moynihan (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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712. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of dairy cows in the national herd in each of the years 2010 to 2017 and to date in 2018; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30461/18]

Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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The following table details the number of dairy cows in Ireland as extracted from the December Livestock survey from the Central Statistics Office from the period 2010 to 2017.  The figure for December 2018 will not be available until 2019.

In 2017, Ireland exported dairy products to approaching 140 countries with a value exceeding €4.6 billion, an increase of over 17% compared to 2016, representing high-quality value-added produce.

Irish milk production in 2017 approached 7.5 billion litres, up from 6.8 billion litres in 2016 and an increase of almost 50% on 2007-2009 average (Food Harvest target).

The long-term fundamentals of the global dairy market are strong, with growing global demand projected from fast developing countries with increasing middle classes and more westernised diets. Whilst significant challenges have continued throughout recent years, I am confident that the Irish and EU dairy sector is well placed to gain from the opportunity presented by expanding global demand whilst simultaneously addressing the aforementioned challenges with a particular focus on the challenges of price volatility. Ireland must of course continue to ensure that any increase in the output of the Irish dairy herd is carried out in both an economic and sustainable manner.

Michael Moynihan (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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713. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of suckler cows in the national herd in each of the years 2010 to 2017 and to date in 2018; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30462/18]

Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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The requested information for the years 2010-2017 is provided below as obtained  from the Department's Animal Identification Movement system (AIM).  The classification is based on the definition of suckler cows as the number of beef cows who have calved at least once in their lifetime at the end of December of each year. 2018 data is not yet available.

Total National Suckler Cows:2010 to 2017

Michael Moynihan (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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714. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of ewes in the national herd in each of the years 2010 to 2017 and to date in 2018; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30463/18]

Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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EU Regulation 21/2004 requires all sheep flock keepers to complete a sheep census, at least annually, on a date determined by my Department. To date, all annual sheep censuses have been carried out in December. This information is collected and collated on the Department's Animal Identification Movement system (AIM).

The number of ewes in the national herd is recorded as part of this census, where a ewe is described as a ‘breeding ewe over 12 months of age on the date of the census’. Ewe lambs are recorded under the category of other sheep.  The 2018 census will be conducted on 31 December 2018, when an inventory of all sheep kept on registered holdings will be undertaken.

The number of breeding ewes recorded in the Annual Sheep Censuses 2010 – 2017 are provided in the following table:

Number of Breeding Ewes