The 2026 National Sheep Welfare Scheme (NSWS) is now open for applications, with an approved budget of €22 million in ongoing support from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) to maintain producer confidence in the future viability of sheep farming.
The 2026 NSWS is a continuation and expansion of a similar scheme that operated in 2025. The core structure consists of five possible actions grouped under mandatory and voluntary categories and is unchanged except that participants will be able to vaccinate against either clostridial diseases or bluetongue virus if they select the ‘vaccination of ewes’ as one of the three mandatory measures. As before, participants in the 2026 NSWS will be required to complete three actions to receive the full payment of up to €13 per ewe.
The NSWS and the Sheep Improvement Scheme (SIS) are separate schemes with separate application procedures for both. Applications for the 2026 NSWS must be submitted before 23.59 on 15 May 2026 and can be made by a farmer, or an approved FAS advisor acting on their behalf, using the online facility at www.agfood.ie.
Farmers joining the 2026 NSWS must indicate at application stage which options they intend to carry out by selecting either two Category A actions which are mandatory worth €8 per ewe or selecting two Category A actions and one Category B action worth up to €13 per ewe.
Actions selected at application stage must be completed by 13 October 2026. However, applicants who are unable to complete their chosen actions by that date can choose a later date of 24 November 2026 for completion of all selected actions, but they will not be paid until January 2027 at the earliest. Where a farmer wishes to select the later completion date, they must select this option at application stage.
The maximum number of breeding ewes eligible for payment under the scheme will be based on the average of the three sheep census returns for eligible breeding ewes declared by the applicant for the years 2023 to 2025. Where the 2025 census return is higher than the average presented, the farmer or FAS advisor can overwrite the average and claim up to the 2025 number if they so wish. Participants must carry out their chosen actions on whatever number of eligible breeding ewes they select at application stage.
Completed actions must be recorded on the record sheets which will be provided by the department to participants.
The full terms and conditions of the National Sheep Welfare Scheme (NSWS) and other relevant scheme information are available here: 2026 National Sheep Welfare Scheme
Upon the announcement of the opening of the NSWS for 2026, Minster for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Martin Heydon said: “The scheme launched today is separate from, but complements, the multi-annual Sheep Improvement Scheme (SIS) funded under Ireland’s CAP Strategic Plan until 2027. To date, approximately 16,700 farmers have received payments totalling €18.2 million for participating in the third year of the SIS, with the balancing payment for the 2025 SIS due to issue in early May 2026. Under the 2025 NSWS, just over €21.2 million has been paid to almost 16,800 participants to date.”
Read how Tommy Mullin, Co. Donegal is participating in the Sheep Improvement Scheme and National Sheep Welfare Scheme to improve his flock here.
