Mr. Kevin Comiskey:

I will be very brief because Mr. Bourke has covered it relatively well. Deputy Carthy asked what €2 would do and the answer is absolutely nothing. As I have said on numerous occasions, the only use it has is to get a trolley in the local supermarket. That is the only benefit it has. If the committee could do something today, it should be to write a cheque for €30 per ewe for every farmer in the country. It would be very beneficial for me when I am heading west. Farmers would be very happy with that.

On the question of feasibility, I sit on the Irish Wool Council. It has had one meeting so far which was an initial meeting to get set up. It was the only good thing I saw from the Irish Wool Council because the rest of it did not tell us anything we did not know. I said at the meeting that, as Mr. Bourke pointed out, we need to be rewarded at farmgate level. We had it costed at €8 per ewe. Everybody with an interest in wool who was in the room that day, including the merchants, agreed unanimously. As I said earlier, 20% of the wool the merchants get is of no use. There is a significant cost to get rid of that.

When we were in Bradford at the washing plant, which is a very intense operation, I asked how long it would take to clip the entire volume of wool we have in this country tonnage-wise. They said they would wash all of the wool we have in this country in six weeks. Therefore, I do not think a washing plant in this country would be viable. They expressed an interest in setting up collection points here. We need to get a reward at farmgate level in order to produce it on further and gain the benefits Mr. Bourke has outlined.