More support needed to halt sheep sector decline

The sheep sector continues to decline, with the IFA Sheep Chair calling for more support to farmers provided by the Government.

Sheep numbers continue to decline with a drop of 1.5% reported by the CSO.

A call for more support for the Irish sheep sector as a result of its steady decline in recent years was made by the Irish Farmers' Association (IFA).

The Central Statistics Office (CSO) have recorded a provisional decrease in total sheep numbers which have dropped by 1.5% the equivalent of 77,200 head, to a total of 5.09m.