€16m to be issued in Sheep Welfare Scheme advance payments
For sheep farmers around the country, the next item on the agenda will be scanning the flock.
Advance payments for the Sheep Welfare Scheme, worth almost €16 million are set to begin today, Agriculture Minister Charlie McConalogue has announced.
The payments for Year 5 of the Sheep Welfare Scheme will be made to around 18,000 Irish sheep farmers.
The scheme provides financial support to farmers for taking extra steps to improve the welfare of their flock, with farmers pair €10 for each breeding ewe for completing flock welfare measures.
Making the announcement, Minister McConalogue stated: “I am pleased to announce that a total of almost €16 million is now being paid to some 18,000 farmers participating in the Sheep Welfare Scheme.
"These payments reflect the change to the reference year, bringing the reference year to the higher of either the farmers’ existing reference number or their 2017 sheep census return. For those who joined as new entrants the reference year is being updated to 2019.”
Minister McConalogue explained the change to the reference year would "better reflect" the level of activity on participants' farms given the passage of time since the introduction of the scheme in 2016.
"It will mean an increased payment for 11,500 farmers under the scheme and no one will see their payment being reduced because of this change. The extension of the scheme into 2022 and the change to the reference year reflects both my and this Government’s commitment to the long-term viability of our sheep sector," he said.
The Minister added: “I am also happy to confirm that in the recent budgetary process, I secured funding for an additional year of the Sheep Welfare Scheme, which will open in February 2022. As in previous years, there will be an opportunity for new entrants to sheep farming to join the scheme.”
Minister McConalogue urged any farmers with outstanding queries to respond to the Department immediately in order to facilitate their payment.
