Getting all sheep farmers into the Agri-Climate Rural Environment Scheme will relieve the income strain on these farms more than a €10/ewe top-up, the Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue has said.

He said although the new sheep scheme “ has increased the least”, it has been sheep farmers who have benefited the most from CAP reform.

He cited the capping of payments, convergence and front-loading as elements of the new CAP which will benefit the average sheep farmer.

“If you take a 100-ewe flock and give an extra fiver that would be €500 or even an extra tenner would be €1,000 but if you can make sure very sheep farmer that applied for ACRES is in, then that’s potentially five, six, €7,000 for this year,” the minister told a Fianna Fáil farmer meeting in Roscommon on Tuesday.