Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 14 December 2021
804. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if the indicative allocation for a sheep improvement scheme within the proposed CAP Strategic Plan intends an equal allocation of funds across all five years of the plan; the estimated number of individual breeding ewes this would support in each year; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [61907/21]
View answerI am committed to the long-term viability of the sheep sector and the dedicated sheep farmers who produce a world-class product. The Sheep Improvement Scheme aims to build on the progress made by the Sheep Welfare Scheme (SWS) in the 2014-2020 RDP by providing support for actions that improve animal health and welfare in the sheep sector.
The programme budget will be allocated equally across each year of the scheme. However, it should be noted that the draft scheme is based on an annual contract which will be demand-led, as was the case with the Sheep Welfare Scheme, which means the drawdown can be variable. It is projected that the measure can support up to 1.67 million breeding ewes annually.
