A PLAN to encourage farmers to increase stocking rates for sheep in remote areas will have a devastating effect on the environment, it has been claimed.
Minister for Agriculture Simon Coveney announced in January that sheep farmers would be required to have a minimum of two sheep per hectare, rather than one as was previously the case, in order to qualify for disadvantaged area payments.
Mr Coveney told the Dáil last month that the intention was to protect grant payments for those who were farming with reasonable numbers of stock on the land.
He said anyone who knew farming would know that the minimum stocking rate was still “incredibly low”.
“Instead of having to keep stock for three months of the year, one must keep it for six months of the year. We cannot have people buying stock for a very short period of time and putting animals on the hillside for three months just to draw down a payment,” he said.
The change, however, has been criticised by Friends of the Irish Environment. Spokesman Tony Lowes said sheep were among the most destructive of all animals on the mountains and exerted huge damage.
Environmentalists were very concerned about any proposed increases in sheep stocking and increasing stock actually ran counter to EU policy, he said.
“The structure of soil in many areas has been destroyed by over-grazing and whole areas are only beginning to recover. Some areas will be lucky to recover ever. Run-off from sheep faeces has created dead zones along the coast.”
The European Court of Justice in 2002 had found against Ireland on over-grazing, Mr Lowes added.
“The Minister’s proposal for intensification of land use in these areas does not accord with this judgment of the court. High stocking results in erosion, soil degradation and increased emissions. The impact is particularly great from sheep.”
Friends of the Irish Environment had written to the European commissioner on agriculture outlining its concerns and had been told no application from the Irish authorities on a change of minimum stocking rates had been received, he said.
In a Dáil reply on February 9th, Mr Coveney said any proposed changes to the disadvantage areas scheme, which was co-funded by the EU, required the agreement of the European Commission.
“In this regard, therefore, the changes announced in the context of the recent budget have been submitted to Brussels; the commission’s response is expected shortly,” he said.
However on February 27th, the EU’s directorate general for agriculture wrote to Mr Lowes to say the commission services had “not received any official proposal” to amend the rural development programme for Ireland regarding changes to conditions for the less favoured areas compensatory allowances
A spokesman for the department said yesterday the commission “has not given the go-ahead as yet” to increase sheep density .