ICSA sheep chair Willie Shaw has said Irish sheep farmers are lucky to clear €25 per lamb at current prices, before a single hour of their own labour is counted. "Factories are quoting around €7.50 to €7.70/kg here. At the moment in Spain, lamb is making €10.77/kg and in France it is €9.73/kg. That €2 to €3/kg difference adds up to a staggering €75/hd, and there is no justification for Irish farmers to be so far behind those markets," he said.

Continuing Mr Shaw said, "When Irish farmers are €2 to €3/kg behind Spain and France, serious questions must be asked about how our market is functioning. We are producing to the same EU standards. Our costs are not lower, and once inputs and overheads are taken into account the margin left on a lamb is extremely tight. If you are lucky you might clear €25 per lamb. That is before you account for the reality that sheep farming is a seven day a week, and often a round the clock job. That is not a viable income, and it is certainly not a signal that would encourage a young person into sheep farming."

Mr Shaw said the current Sheep Welfare Scheme is effectively propping up ewe numbers and disguising the fact that many farmers are planning their exit. "Farmers are maintaining ewe numbers because they are tied into scheme commitments. But many are simply waiting for those commitments to end. Many farmers I speak to are just hanging on until they have the option to step away. That tells you there is something seriously wrong."

Concluding, Mr Shaw said current prices are not giving farmers any reason to stay in sheep farming. "At €7.50/kg, sheep farming in Ireland becomes a fool's game, not a livelihood."