2026 National Sheep Welfare Scheme

The Scheme is a one-year Scheme aimed at assisting farmers to produce better quality animals and implement practical animal welfare measures on their farms.

The 2026 National Sheep Welfare Scheme (NSWS) measures are additional to those in the Sheep Improvement Scheme (SIS) and must be applied for separately.

You must have an ovine active DAFM Herd Number.

• You must be farming a holding in respect of which a valid 2026 Basic Income Support for Sustainability (BISS) Application is submitted to the Department, within the required application period.
• You must have submitted a 2025 National Sheep Census by the 15 February 2026.
• There are 5 actions in the Scheme and applicants are required to complete 2 actions from Category A which are mandatory actions and 1 action from Category B which are optional or voluntary actions, therefore three (3) actions overall if they wish to receive a payment of up to €13 per ewe. Completion of the 3 chosen actions are mandatory for full payment.

Payment will be per eligible Breeding Ewe and payment for full scheme compliance will be up to €13 per ewe where a farmer has selected and delivered two Category A actions and one Category B action.

Where a farmer has applied for only two Category A actions i.e., DID NOT APPLY for a Category B action, their full scheme payment will be up to €8 per ewe subject to compliance with all scheme terms and conditions.

The Scheme will run from 01 January 2026 to 31 December 2026,

Actions selected must be completed by 13th October 2026, however applicants who are unable to compete their chosen actions by this date can select the later date of 24th November 2026 when completing their application form on-line. Applicants should note that should they choose the later completion date, payment will not issue until January 2027 at the earliest. If you wish to select the later completion date, THIS MUST be done at application stage. It will not be possible to change the completion dates after submission of your application. In addition, if you select the later completion date, that is for all your actions selected, not just a specific action(s).

Reductions in payment will apply where not all actions are completed.

Applications can only be made using the online facility at www.agfood.ie either by the applicant themselves or by an approved FAS advisor authorised to act on their behalf. Applicants not already registered for the Department’s online services will need to register first at www.agfood.ie .

• Application opening date is Wednesday 01 April 2026

• Application closing date is Friday 15 May 2026, followed by 25 calendar day late application. Late applications closing date Tuesday 9 June 2026.

• Applicants must ensure their application is correct as errors and omissions cannot be rectified afterwards.

• Applicants (or FAS advisors authorised to act on their behalf) need to ensure they click the “submit” button to actually submit their application prior to exiting the system. Failure to click on the “submit” button will mean your application has NOT been submitted.

• If you have forgotten your Agfood.ie PAC, Password, or are having any difficulties logging on, you can e-mail the Department at agfood@agriculture.gov.ie or Telephone: 049 4368288

*Category A Action (Mandatory) descriptions can be found in Annex 1, Applicants MUST Select 2 actions from Category A.

**Category B Action (Optional) descriptions can be found in Annex 2, Applicants CAN Select 1 action from Category B.

***Category A Action Vaccination of Ewes, applicants can choose to either carry out Clostridial or Bluetongue vaccinations under this action.