Unspent money from the Sheep Welfare Scheme (SWS) was allocated to fodder supports, Minister of State for Food, Forestry and Horticulture, Andrew Doyle, has said.
Speaking at the opening ceremony of Sheep 2018, Minister Doyle said: “The SWS of €25m has been allocated.
“There was some unspent money last year, because there were lower than expected numbers, which was actually allocated to fodder because of the scarcity of fodder earlier in the year, which I think was prudent,” he said.
In a statement to Irish Farmers Journal, the Department of Agriculture said: “The SWS was introduced in December 2016 as part as Ireland’s Rural Development Programme. The scheme provided funding of up to €25m for Irish sheep farmers in 2017. Funds may be transferred during any fiscal year to fully utilise the Department’s annual budget, but the overall allocation remains part of the Rural Development Programme funding.”
Due to lower than anticipated uptake in the sheep scheme, a total of €19m was paid out to some 20,000 farmers, leaving an underspend of €6m.
A number of farm organisations had called for any underspend to remain in the sheep sector. It would now appear that the money has been used as funding for schemes targeted at fodder implemented earlier in the year.
IFA national sheep chair Seán Dennehy said the IFA is proposing the introduction of an additional targeted environmental measure for the sheep sector under the RDP, which would provide a payment worth €5 per ewe, financed from the underspend of €5m in the SWS and an additional €5m of national funding.
Under the Fodder Transport Scheme, 606 applications were received which represents just 0.46% of 130,000 Irish farmers, a parliamentary question from Seán Sherlock has revealed.
EID
Meanwhile, Government plans to introduce mandatory EID tagging for all sheep sold from 1 October also came in for criticism from farmers at Sheep 2018. During an industry discussion, representatives from Bord Bia and Irish Country Meats defended the proposal as members of the audience claimed farmers were bearing the brunt of the cost but would see little benefit.
An IFA survey found that 62% of farmers did not believe there would be any benefit from EID tagging and only 6% felt they should bear the additional cost.
Read more
Fodder transport scheme: county-by-county breakdown
ICSA calls for sheep numbers flexibility under welfare scheme
Farmers and industry clash over the benefits of EID
Unspent money from the Sheep Welfare Scheme (SWS) was allocated to fodder supports, Minister of State for Food, Forestry and Horticulture, Andrew Doyle, has said.
Speaking at the opening ceremony of Sheep 2018, Minister Doyle said: “The SWS of €25m has been allocated.
“There was some unspent money last year, because there were lower than expected numbers, which was actually allocated to fodder because of the scarcity of fodder earlier in the year, which I think was prudent,” he said.
In a statement to Irish Farmers Journal, the Department of Agriculture said: “The SWS was introduced in December 2016 as part as Ireland’s Rural Development Programme. The scheme provided funding of up to €25m for Irish sheep farmers in 2017. Funds may be transferred during any fiscal year to fully utilise the Department’s annual budget, but the overall allocation remains part of the Rural Development Programme funding.”
Due to lower than anticipated uptake in the sheep scheme, a total of €19m was paid out to some 20,000 farmers, leaving an underspend of €6m.
A number of farm organisations had called for any underspend to remain in the sheep sector. It would now appear that the money has been used as funding for schemes targeted at fodder implemented earlier in the year.
IFA national sheep chair Seán Dennehy said the IFA is proposing the introduction of an additional targeted environmental measure for the sheep sector under the RDP, which would provide a payment worth €5 per ewe, financed from the underspend of €5m in the SWS and an additional €5m of national funding.
Under the Fodder Transport Scheme, 606 applications were received which represents just 0.46% of 130,000 Irish farmers, a parliamentary question from Seán Sherlock has revealed.
EID
Meanwhile, Government plans to introduce mandatory EID tagging for all sheep sold from 1 October also came in for criticism from farmers at Sheep 2018. During an industry discussion, representatives from Bord Bia and Irish Country Meats defended the proposal as members of the audience claimed farmers were bearing the brunt of the cost but would see little benefit.
An IFA survey found that 62% of farmers did not believe there would be any benefit from EID tagging and only 6% felt they should bear the additional cost.
Read more
Fodder transport scheme: county-by-county breakdown
ICSA calls for sheep numbers flexibility under welfare scheme
Farmers and industry clash over the benefits of EID
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