Irish unhappy as EU rejects higher ewe premium

The Minister for Agriculture, Food and Rural Development, Mr Walsh, expressed disappointment last night in Brussels that his …

The Minister for Agriculture, Food and Rural Development, Mr Walsh, expressed disappointment last night in Brussels that his fellow farm ministers had not supported his call for a higher EU ewe premium.

The Farm Ministers' Council adopted a compromise package on sheepmeat reform which resulted in the basic ewe premium being fixed at €21, well below what Mr Walsh had sought for Irish producers.

He failed to win the support of Union colleagues when he opposed the settlement. Austria was the only country to lend support for a higher premium. Sweden voted against the Commission proposal on the grounds that the payment was too high.

Mr Walsh said the basic premium was nevertheless the best that could be achieved in the current circumstances and was well above this year's variable premium, which was well below €10 per ewe.

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The new flat rate, he said, would have the advantage of providing stability for producers and would allow for more forward planning and would help simplify farm management.

His statement said that in addition to the basic ewe premium, most Irish farmers would receive a supplementary premium of €7 and a national payment of about €1.22 per ewe.

He was confident the package would give a considerable boost to the income of Irish sheep farmers and put the sector on a sound basis for the future.

The outgoing president of the Irish Farmers' Association, Mr Tom Parlon, said the new payment was "clearly inadequate and failed to reverse the disparity in the level of direct payments to Ireland's 40,000 sheep farmers. This is a raw deal for Irish sheep farmers."

The Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers Association also expressed disappointment "but not surprise" at the outcome of the negotiations".

A spokesman said it was a pity the agriculture ministers did not show the same resolve as the fisheries ministers who spent nearly 27 hours discussing the fishing situation earlier in the week.