Farmers in Ireland have to pay up to €3.50 per sheep for shearing.

Omissions

• The claim uses 'up to €3.50', which corresponds to the highest end of reported shearing rates in Ireland; several Irish farming sources cite lower typical rates of €1.80–€2.50 per head (Farmers Journal) and €2.00–€3.00 per head (Agriland), with most shearers quoting about €2.50 per head.
• The €3.50 figure is corroborated by Irish farming press (irelandcattleprice.com and ewe.network), not by a primary statistical source such as Teagasc, IFA or CSO; no official statistics on shearing charges per sheep appear to exist.
• The exact publication dates of the key corroborating pages (irelandcattleprice.com 'Wool Prices' and ewe.network MTU wool research article) could not be precisely established; they report on conditions in the period before the 2026-07-09 session date.
• Wool prices are very low (about 20–27.5 c/kg), so shearing is a net cost to farmers — context that supports the MEP's broader argument that shearing costs are not covered by wool income.

Sources

• SecondaryIreland Cattle Price - Irish Wool Prices This WeekThe sum on every farm: an average 2.5 kg lowland fleece at 27.5c/kg is worth €0.69. Shearing her costs €3.50. Most Irish sheep farmers pay to ...
• SecondaryEwe Network - MTU Receives Half a Million for Wool ResearchCurrently, farmers get little in return for their wool; it costs farmers about €3.50 to shear a sheep with a return of roughly 20 cents/kg for the fleece.
• SecondaryFarmers JournalShearing currently costs between €1.80 and €2.50 per head and with the average fleece weighing 2.2kg farmers are struggling to break even.
• SecondaryAgrilandShearing quotes are ranging from €2.00/head to €3.00/head, with the majority of shearers quoting, on average, €2.50/head.
• SecondaryIrish ExaminerShearing costs €2.50 but saves €8 per ewe. Wool price covers only 20% of cost but ewes shorn at housing do better.