Ministers fail to agree sheep deal

European Union agriculture ministers have failed to agree on a Commission proposal to fix the level of subsidies to sheep farmers. The Commission wants to fix ewe premiums at €21 per head, a level that Ireland and some other member-states believe is too low and two countries say is too high.

Farmers' representatives have called for a premium of €32, which they say would be in line with direct payments elsewhere in the livestock sector.

The European Parliament has proposed a premium of €30 but the Agriculture Commissioner, Mr Franz Fischler, told the ministers yesterday that such a figure was out of the question.

The Minister for Agriculture, Mr Walsh, said Ireland would accept a combination of a fixed ewe premium and a "national envelope" of other subsidies if the extra subsidies were generous enough. And he promised to continue to fight for better terms for sheep farmers.

"They deserve it. The vast majority of sheep farmers live in disadvantaged areas and have no alternative source of income," he said.

Commission sources suggested Mr Fischler would hold out the threat of no reform in sheep subsidies in an effort to persuade those member-states that want higher payments to back down.

Mr Walsh said last night that he hoped the issue would be resolved when agriculture ministers meet in Brussels next month.

The Republic accounts for 4.5 million of the EU's 70 million sheep but the number of sheep farmers has dwindled in recent years.

Mr Walsh told yesterday's meeting the number of Irish sheep farmers had fallen by 30 per cent since 1992 and the number of sheep had fallen by 15 per cent.

The president of the Irish Farmers Association, Mr Tom Parlon, warned that a further decline in sheep farming would have serious social consequences in Ireland and elsewhere.

"If people move out of west Kerry, west Donegal, the north of Scotland or the Welsh hills, it will be a big social problem," he said.

Ministers were also discussing a German proposal to abolish export refunds on cattle destined for slaughter. The ministers made no decision on the proposal, although the European Parliament last week backed a call to stop subsidies for live cattle exports.