The sheep welfare scheme, which was introduced in 2016 and is designed for the period until 2020, allowed to increase profitability and increase production in this sector. Meanwhile, average sheep farming loans in Ireland are just under € 20,000, and investments in this sector are small.

These are just a few of the findings of the 2018 IFAC report on Irish Farms for June 2018.

The report details the views of more than 2,133 Irish farmers and provides a comprehensive analysis of 21,755 Irish farmer accounts over a four-year period.

The report also indicates the fact that based on data on farms, their “profit remains low.”

“Like their colleagues in the beef sector, sheep farmers are heavily dependent on EU subsidies. The sheep welfare scheme improved profitability and increased output; nonetheless, profit remains low, ”said Philip O'Connor, author of the IFAC report on Irish Farms.

Further, the author of the report said that, during 2018, an average of only 7,355 euros was invested in each Irish farm; over the past four years, this figure averaged 7,493 euros, while in 2018, 30% of farms did not have “business related debts”.