The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine has been challenged by political opponents to explain “what the government is going to do” as sheep farmers are running to “stand still”.
Minister Charlie McConalogue came under fire in the Dáil this week as he heard how sheep farmers are in the “eye of the perfect storm”.
The leader of the Social Democrats and party spokesperson on agriculture, Holly Cairns, told the minister there was “a pressing and clear need for an intervention package, including direct payments and the acceleration of plans to develop the wool industry”.
“The minister has been aware of the situation since taking office and he knows how difficult it is for sheep farmers right now.
“His solution in the budget was just inadequate for the pressure farmers are facing. The new Sheep Improvement Scheme (SIS) increased the payment rate by €2/ewe, from €10-12 – but that €2 was straight away already eaten up with rising costs from shearing to vaccines.
“Sheep farmers are basically running just to stand still,” Deputy Cairns said.
The Independent TD for East Galway, Seán Canney, also warned that it was now “an issue of survival” for some sheep farmers.
“A €50 million support scheme is required if we are to show respect for the sheep farmers in this country and for their families. It is important that this is not about crying wolf.
“This is a survival cry from the farmers. We will find farmers will leave the sheep behind them. They will just sell them off and get out. Young farmers will not entertain an unviable business,” the TD warned.
Minister Charlie McConalogue and the Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Martin Heydon, both made statements on the Irish sheep sector to the Dáil yesterday (Thursday, March 30) outlining current government supports to the sector.
Minister McConalogue told the Dáil:
“I have provided significant support to the sector under the new Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), both through a new targeted scheme for sheep farmers – the SIS – and through the broad range of schemes in the CAP strategic plan.
“More than 19,000 applications have been submitted to the new SIS. It replaces the previous Sheep Welfare Scheme and has a payment rate of €12/ewe. It is good to see its strong uptake among farmers.”
He also detailed his support for a wool council and said he was doing all he could to “underpin this sector and provide a platform for it”.
But the minister did not address repeated questions from his political opponents in relation to the impact of Brexit on the sheep sector and why the government has not accessed the Brexit Adjustment Reserve (BAR) fund to devise a rescue package for the sheep sector.
Independent TD for Laois-Offaly, Carol Nolan, said a €50 million emergency aid package for sheep farmers, funded through BAR, needed to be “done without delay”.
“Many of the sheep farmers I am engaging with are rapidly losing faith in their capacity to respond to any opportunities that may arise simply because they are struggling to maintain operations from one week to the next.
“I urge the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine to step up to the mark and not fail another agricultural sector,” Deputy Nolan said.