Johnny Guirke
Question:307. Deputy Johnny Guirke asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the reason there was no new support measures provided to sheep farmers in Budget 2022. [51452/21]
View answerWednesday, 20 October 2021
Questions (307)
Written answers
I am pleased to have delivered over €1.8 billion of funding in Budget 2022 for the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine for the overall sector. This is in addition to almost €1.2 billion in EU-funded direct payments received annually to support farm incomes and reward good agricultural and environmental practices
More than €100 million of this will be in targeted supports for the beef and sheep sectors including BDGP, BEEP-S, Sheep Welfare Scheme and Dairy Calf Programme
Other relevant measures include:
- €4m for the establishment of the Office of the Food Ombudsman
- €80m for on farm investments through TAMS including specific supports for solar energy installation
- A tax package that protects the stamp duty relief for young, trained farmers, and stock relief.
- An additional €2m to support farm safety initiatives
Specifically, in relation to the Sheep sector, the Sheep Welfare Scheme was introduced in December 2016 as part of Ireland’s Rural Development Programme, having been agreed with the European Commission. In the four years of the scheme to date, €66.9 million has been paid to 18,268 farmers.
Currently, I am working closely with my colleague Minister McGrath to finalise a financial package for the new CAP that will support the Agri -food sector and rural communities, including the sheep sector, in the period from 2023 to 2028. I hope to make a further announcement with regard to this shortly.