Payments valued at €16.91 million under the Sheep Improvement Scheme (SIS) have commenced issuing to 15,527 participants.

The SIS aims to enhance animal health and welfare in the sheep sector.

The scheme provides financial support to farmers for taking extra steps to improve the welfare of their flock and has a total allocation of €100 million over the period 2023-2027.

Same as last year, payments currently issuing are an 85% advance payment on the SIS.

Payments may take up to five days to reach farmers' accounts, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine said.

The 15% balancing payment is due to commence in April 2026.  

Support to sheep sector

Commenting on the announcement, Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Martin Heydon said: "This is the third year of the SIS and provides support of €12 per breeding ewe for actions that improve animal health and welfare in the sheep sector.

"The commencement of these payments demonstrates the continuing commitment of this government to the sheep sector.

"When combined with the €11.50 per ewe available under the 2025 National Sheep Welfare Scheme, total payment per ewe is €23.50 in 2025, a significant increase from the €20 per ewe in 2024 where farmers were participants in both schemes.” 

The minister said that €33.35 million has issued specifically to sheep farmers for sheep support schemes in November.

Documentation

"I want to remind farmers that if they have received correspondence from my department seeking documentation or clarification, they should respond to that as quickly as possible to allow processing of outstanding cases to continue," Minister Heydon added.

"In addition, I would also like to remind farmers that to continue to be eligible for payment for the two sheep schemes, they must ensure that they submit their annual sheep census returns on time each year.” 

In line with previous years, not all applications are currently cleared for payment under the SIS.

Farmers should submit any outstanding evidence in support of their application to the department’s Portlaoise office as soon as possible to facilitate the release of payments.

Number of recipients

The department has provided a breakdown of SIS payment recipients by county.

Counties Donegal, Mayo, Kerry, Galway and Wicklow have the highest total payment under the scheme.