The hill sheep sector plays an important role in the economic health of rural economies and the maintenance of the natural landscape in Ireland most scenic areas.

This was the view of Teagasc director Professor Gerry Boyle speaking at Tuesday’s Hill Sheep Conference in Wicklow.

Gerry said: “Farming the hills as far as I’m concerned is a public good and needs to be rewarded.”

This view was echoed by Kenmare Mart manager Dan McCarthy, who said that without a well-constructed agri-environmental scheme or significant ewe payment there is a major risk of losing a generation of skills.

Brendan Joyce, sheep farmer Connemara Co Galway, Dan McCarthy, manager of Kenmare Mart, Co Kerry, James Smyth, Irish Country Meats, Navan, Co Meath. \ Dermot Byrne

McCarthy said that a worthwhile return was required to both keep hill farmers in business and have any hope of enticing young farmers into the sector.

Brendan Joyce, Connemara hill sheep farmer and vice president of the INHFA said one of the greatest challenges facing hill sheep farmers was alignment of policy between what the National Parks and Wildlife Service see as good environmental practice under the Birds and Habitats Directive and what the Department of Agriculture sees as good agricultural practice.

Joyce highlighted that, with the right appetite and policy decisions, there is potential to grow the hill sheep sector citing that if the hill sheep sector’s output rightly took into account their public good contribution they would be some of the most productive farmers in Europe.