The Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Brendan Smith TD, today confirmed the opening of the Sheep Fencing/Mobile Handling Equipment Scheme, for which €8 million has been allocated for grant applications received up to the end of 2013. The Minister described the new scheme “as one of a number of initiatives aimed at supporting this important sector which is worth €250 million to the Irish economy. The Irish sheep sector is a hugely valuable export-orientated part of the Irish agri-food sector, with over two-thirds of the product exported supplying a high-value produce to consumer markets throughout Europe. Annual exports to almost 20 markets around the world are now worth approximately €165m.”
The sheep fencing and mobile handling scheme will complement the €7 million Uplands Sheep Scheme, launched last year, and the €54 million Grassland Sheep Scheme, launched earlier this year, which Minister Smith said will “provide a much-needed boost to sheep farmers’ income.”
In order to ensure that grant assistance will flow to successful applicants, the €8 million available under the Scheme will be paid out in a series of tranches, the first of which will run until 31 January 2011 and for which €1.148 million will be available.
As indicated previously, the Department will apply a series of selection criteria to determine the successful applications.
Minister Smith said that the “importance of the sheep industry had been clearly identified in the Food Harvest 2020 Report, which shows that a growth in output value of 20 per cent is achievable by 2020.”
Full details of the terms and conditions of the Scheme are available on the Department’s website at www.agriculture.gov.ie
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