Department opens Sheep Improvement Scheme to new entrants

The Sheep Improvement Scheme provides financial support to help improve flock welfare. File picture

Now in its fourth year, the Sheep Improvement Scheme (SIS) is open to new entrants.

The five-year, €100m SIS provides financial support to farmers for taking extra steps to improve the welfare of their flock.

Commenting on the opening of the scheme, minister for agriculture, Martin Heydon, said: “I am delighted to announce that applications for entry to year four of the Sheep Improvement Scheme are now open to qualifying new entrants. 

This is the fourth year of the SIS, which builds on the progress made by the Sheep Welfare Scheme in the previous CAP and indeed the last three years of the Sheep Improvement Scheme, too.” 

When both the SIS and the National Sheep Welfare Scheme, which has an allocation of €22 million in 2026, are combined, they collectively offer financial support of up to €25 per ewe for undertaking measures which help to improve the welfare of the national flock.

The SIS is funded under Ireland’s CAP Strategic Plan (CSP) 2023-2027 with a budget allocation of €20m per year over the course of the CSP. Farmers get up to €12 per breeding ewe per annum for completing flock welfare measures.

Applications for SIS close on April 29, 2026, and must be made through the AgFood portal.