The predecessor of the Sheep Improvement Scheme, the Sheep Welfare scheme, saw 23 counties in the final year of the scheme reduce their number of participants.
The Sheep Welfare Scheme, which was introduced in December 2016, ended with year six of the scheme, which operated from February 1, 2022, to January 31, 2023.
There were 286 fewer farmers in year six of the scheme between February 1, 2022 to January 31, 2023 than in year five of the scheme, which operated from February 1, 2021, to January 31, 2022.
A total of 23 counties saw reductions in the number of participants in the Sheep Welfare Scheme from year five to year six, while just two counties saw participants in the scheme increase (Co. Clare and Co. Kerry).
Co. Kildare did not change its number of participants between year five and six of the Sheep Welfare Scheme, as it remained on 338 participants for both years.
The county with the most reductions in numbers from the scheme in the space of a year was Co. Galway, which saw the number of participants drop by 47.
The county with the fewest participants in the Sheep Welfare Scheme was Co. Limerick which had just 75 participants in year six, compared to 76 in the previous year.
County Number of paid participants from Feb. 2022 to Jan. 2023 (year six) Amount paid Number of paid participants from Feb. 2021 to Jan. 2022 (year five) Amount paid Carlow 375 €517,575.10 390 €538,499 Cavan 363 €297,314.50 372 €307,462.50 Clare 189 €84,882.10 178 €82,544.50 Cork 876 €865,377 890 €890,899.50 Donegal 3,221 €2,269,161.50 3,223 €2,367,017.60 Dublin 98 €120,585.50 99 €129,943 Galway 2,132 €1,892,920.10 2,179 €1,953,592 Kerry 1,577 €1,926,844.50 1,579 €1,981,882 Kildare 338 €506,523 338 €532,786 Kilkenny 271 €316,508 274 €339,295.50 Laois 197 €200,481 211 €216,981 Leitrim 598 €574,911.50 606 €589,689.30 Limerick 75 €88,507.60 76 €92,605.50 Longford 180 €149,387 189 €155,383.50 Louth 199 €257,538.50 206 €265,861.70 Mayo 2,652 €2,139,734.20 2,685 €2,209,705.40 Meath 479 €695,535.30 502 €736,419.80 Monaghan 201 €165,677.50 206 €179,265 Offaly 268 €288,483.50 271 €310,443 Roscommon 877 €792,160.40 895 €842,753.30 Sligo 779 €673,337.50 800 €704,929.40 Tipperary 407 €506,725.50 412 €550,241 Waterford 225 €369,508.10 227 €387,273.50 Westmeath 351 €355,242.50 370 €371,862.50 Wexford 516 €624,985.50 530 €639,668.50 Wicklow 783 €1,151,695 805 €1,207,508 Total 18,227 €17,831,601.90 18,513 €18,584,512
The €18,584,512 that was paid to 18,513 participants in the scheme from February 2021 to January 2022 equates to an average payment of €1,003.75.
The €17,831,601.90 that was paid to 18,227 participants in the scheme from February 2022 to January 2023 equates to an average payment of €978.31.
Farmers from Co. Donegal, Co. Kerry, Co. Galway, and Co. Mayo, comprised a total of 52.2% of the participants in year five of the scheme, as there were 9,666 participants from these four areas.
The four counties comprised 52.5% of the participants in year six of the scheme from February 1, 2022, to January 31, 2023.
Looking at the amount paid to the participants in the four counties (€8,512,197) in year five of the scheme, it made up 48.8% of the total amount paid to scheme participants that year.
In year six of the scheme, Co. Donegal, Co. Kerry, Co. Galway, and Co. Mayo combined received €8,228,660.90, which was 46.1% of the €17,831,601.90 paid that year to participants in the scheme.