Smith promises substantial CAP funds boost for sheep farmers

SHEEP farmers will be the substantial beneficiaries from the allocation of €25 million in unused Common Agricultural Policy funds from 2010, Minister Brendan Smith has announced.

Minister Smith said he acknowledged the particular difficulties being experienced by the sheep sector. It was for this reason he had allocated €7m from the single farm payment national reserve to 14,000 hill sheep farmers this year. These were the only funds to which he had access in 2009.

He said he expected there would be in the region of €25m in additional funding available in unused CAP funds to target specific sectors and regions in need of assistance.

Minister Smith said his department is preparing for submission to the European Commission by July 15 a new Rural Development Programme.

This will incorporate additional modulated moneys, estimated to be around €17m in 2010, and new funding available from the European Economic Recovery Package.

“My main priority, in allocating these funds is to ensure that they are used in the most efficient and effective manner for the development of Irish agriculture,” he said.

Minister Smith said in relation to the unused funds, he is not yet in a position to specify what additional scheme(s) will be introduced to further assist sheep production.

“But, as I have indicated previously, hill and lowland sheep farmers will be the substantial beneficiaries from the allocation of these funds,” he said.

IFA president Padraig Walshe said the positive announcement was welcome. There was sound justification for all of the unused funds to go to the sheep sector, which was under severe financial pressure for the last three years. Stressing that all the unused funds must go to sheep farmers in 2010, IFA Sheep Committee chairman Henry Burns said yesterday’s announcement will help confidence among sheep producers ICSA sheep committee chairman Mervyn Sunderland said he welcomed the Minister’s confirmation that €25m of unused funds will be ring-fenced for the sheep sector but he called for immediate clarification on how exactly these will be allocated.

Fine Gael spokesperson Michael Creed TD said the minister’s statement just days before an election promising €25m for the sheep sector has a familiar ring to it. That’s because it is substantially the same as a May 2007 announcement of €28m for the sheep sector, which has yet to materialise.