farming

IFA meet Minister Smith on Sheep

IFA President John Bryan and National Sheep Chairman James Murphy met the Minister for Agriculture Brendan Smith on sheep in Dublin. Minister Smith reaffirmed to the IFA his decision that €18m in unused CAP funds have been ring-fenced for the sheep sector and will be paid out in 2010.

The Minister said he is finalising the payment details and arrangements and will make an announcement by the end of this month.

John Bryan said the sheep sector is vitally important to 30,000 farmers across the entire 26 counties and has an output value of €250m of which €166m are export earnings.
The IFA President said a strong replacement for REPS4 was very important for sheep farmers as well as Disadvantage Area payments.

IFA National Sheep Chairman James Murphy emphasised to Minister Smith that an early announcement on the €18m in unused funds and the €8m allocated to sheep under grant aid for fencing and handling facilities would be an important move to halt the fall in ewe numbers as producers face into a new season.

James Murphy told Minister Smith IFA is opposed to Compulsory EID for sheep. He said Ireland already has an effective individual tagging and traceability system which works. The IFA sheep farmers’ leader said EID will add nothing other than costs and more bureaucracy to the sheep sector.