A Leitrim Councillor is calling on the government to provide rescue packages for the sheep sector from the Brexit Adjustment Reserve fund to ensure farmers get sufficient prices for lamb.
The Brexit Adjustment Reserve fund aims to provide financial support to sectors most affected by Brexit to deal with adverse economic consequences.
Ireland has an allocation of over €1 billion of the entire reserve.
Councillor Brendan Barry told a recent meeting of Ballinamore MD, that more UK farmers are selling lambs to Ireland, which is lowering Irish lamb prices.
According to the Sinn Fein representative, Brexit has affected the sheep sector in a variety of ways:
Sterling changes are also effecting the trade with lambs coming in here as well, so all of this is a result of Brexit. Irish lamb is about 6.30 euro per kilo at the moment and in our main market in France lamb is around 8 euro per kilo. So there is over 2 euro of a difference which is a lot of money for farmers in a rural area, other sectors have been given funding from the Brexit reserve fund and the sheep sector should be no different.
