The livelihoods of individuals and long-term sustainability of the sheep sector is “at stake”, according to Independent TD, Mattie McGrath.
Deputy McGrath was commenting on the recent publication of the 2022 annual sheep and goat census by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM).
The census showed that 4.01 million sheep were kept across 35,555 registered holdings at the end of 2022. This represented a decrease of approximately 14,000 (0.35%) compared to December 2021.
“The minister’s astonishing failure to acknowledge the challenges faced by sheep farmers across the country highlights a clear disconnect,” Deputy McGrath said.
The Rural Independent Group has been calling for a support payment of €30/head for sheep farmers that was to be implemented since January 1, 2023.
It is now calling on the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue, to “reconsider his position and take immediate action to deliver the much needed financial aid package”.
“During the Brexit period, Irish lamb became the most affordable in the world, while mainland Europe enjoyed prices €30-50 higher than those in Ireland.
“The failure of Minister McConalogue to allocate funds from the Brexit fund (Brexit Adjustment Reserve] to the sheep sector is deeply troubling. It raises concerns that these funds will remain unutilised or be redirected elsewhere,” Deputy McGrath added.
Census results
The census results showed there were 2.66 million breeding ewes over 12-months-of-age, which is a decrease of almost 36,000 (1.3%) on the previous year’s breeding ewe population.
A total of 85,802 breeding rams was recorded, which is a decrease of over 400 on the previous year.
A total of 1.26 million other categories were recorded (including lambs, wethers, cull ewes etc.). This category increased by over 22,000 in 2022 (1.78%).
The distribution of the national flock in terms of flock sizes has remained relatively stable since 2010, except for the flock size 1–50, where there was an 18% increase in 2021.
This figure then decreased by 31% in 2022, returning to a level consistent with previous years.
The number of flocks per flock size were as follows:
Flock size Number of flocks 1-50 14,163 51-100 8,901 101-150 4,732 151-200 2,599 201-300 2,563 301-400 1,163 401-500 581 >500 853 Total flocks 35,555
Number of sheep per county
Overall, the greatest number were kept in Co. Donegal with a sheep population of 541,063. Co. Limerick recorded the fewest number of sheep at 21,727.
46.7% of the total population is classified as mountain or mountain-cross breeds. The greatest number of mountain sheep was kept in Co. Mayo at 229,260.
A total of 53.3% of all recorded (2,136454) were classified as lowland /lowland-cross breeds. The greatest number of mountain-cross sheep was kept in Co. Donegal with 112,829.
The smallest number of mountain sheep was recorded in Co. Clare (1,367), with Co. Limerick keeping the smallest number of mountain-cross breeds (3,396).
According to the department, 2022 was the first year since 2018 to record a decrease in the national flock.
However, the 2022 population remains over four million and at the second-highest level in recent years, after 2021.