The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue T.D., opened a new National Sheep Welfare Scheme (NSWS) earlier this year. The scheme has a budget of €15m.

Reminding farmers of the upcoming application deadline, Fianna Fáil Senator in Louth, Erin McGreehan, said:

“This sheep scheme introduced by Fianna Fáil Minister, Charlie McConalogue, fulfilled our party undertaking to provide an additional payment for sheep farmers which, together with the Sheep Improvement Scheme (SIS) payments, will result in a payment equivalent to €20 per ewe in 2024. This represents a doubling of the sheep payment from 2022 and is the highest payment ever.”

Participants in the NSWS will be required to complete two actions to receive the full payment of €8 per ewe. The scheme consists of four possible measures, equally applicable to upland and lowland flocks, and grouped into two categories as follows:

Category A – shearing or body condition scoring of ewes;
Category B – clostridial vaccination of ewes (or lambs if ewes are already vaccinated) or plunge dipping of ewes.

Farmers joining the NSWS must indicate at application stage which options they intend to carry out by selecting one from each category. The maximum number of breeding ewes eligible for payment under the scheme will be determined by reference to the numbers declared for each participating flock in the sheep census returns from 2020 to 2023. Completed actions must be recorded on the Scheme Action Record Sheets which will be provided by the department to participants.

On the requirements under the new scheme, Senator McGreehan said: “This scheme is practical for farmers and applicable to all types of sheep enterprises. It is designed to appeal to all sheep farmers regardless of their flock size or production system, including those not currently participating in the existing Sheep Improvement Scheme. The scheme sends a strong signal of Fianna Fáil’s commitment to the sector and provides a valuable injection of support that will boost producer confidence in the future viability of sheep farming.”

Scheme applications, which must be submitted before 23.59 on 21 May 2024, can be made by a farmer or an approved FAS advisor acting on their behalf using the online facility at www.agfood.ie.

The full terms and conditions of the NSWS and other relevant scheme information are available here.

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