Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Martin Heydon has today (Wednesday, March 25) announced the opening of year four of the Sheep Improvement Scheme (SIS) to new entrants.

The five-year, €100 million scheme provides financial support to farmers for taking extra steps to improve the welfare of their flock.

The Sheep Improvement Scheme is funded under Ireland’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) Strategic Plan (CSP) 2023-2027.

The measure has a budget allocation of €20 million per year over the course of the CSP.

Participating farmers get up to €12 per breeding ewe per annum for completing flock welfare measures.

Sheep Improvement Scheme

Commenting on the opening of the scheme, Minister Heydon said:

"This is the fourth year of the SIS, which builds on the progress made by the Sheep Welfare Scheme in the previous CAP and indeed the last three years of the Sheep Improvement Scheme too.

"This scheme, which facilitates an annual opening for new entrants, demonstrates the continuing commitment of this government to the sheep sector."

"When both the SIS and the National Sheep Welfare Scheme, which has an allocation of €22 million in 2026, are combined, they collectively offer financial support of up to €25 per ewe for undertaking measures which will improve the welfare of the national flock," he added.

The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) said that applications must be made through the Agfood online portal.

The closing date for applications is 11.59p.m on April 29, 2026.

The department noted that new entrants into the scheme in year 4 who have a reference number of 150 breeding ewes or less, will only need to complete the genotyped ram action once in either 2026 or 2027 scheme year.

New entrants with a reference number greater than 150, will have to complete the genotyped ram action in both 2026 and 2027 scheme years.