A comprehensive study of the €200 million sheepmeat industry is to take place to form a cohesive development plan.
A special steering committee under the chairmanship of John Malone, former general secretary at the Department of Agriculture and Food, is being established.
According to a statement from Minister for Agriculture Mary Coughlan, this committee will include key players such as producers, processors, Teagasc, Bord Bia, Enterprise Ireland and the Department of Agriculture.
In a statement, Ms Coughlan said it was necessary to evaluate all aspects of the sheep breeding, production (farming), processing and marketing industry, and the inter-relationship that existed between them.
Last year the export value of sheepmeat was €181.7 million, and with a growing demand for lamb in Ireland it is estimated that the industry as a whole is worth €200 million annually.
Ms Coughlan said it was important to identify the changes needed in the various strategies to make them more effective.
There was a need to draw together a cohesive development plan that would put the industry on a solid footing in the post-decoupling era. All relevant interests would be consulted.