Mr. Tim Cullinan:

I thank Senator Boyhan. First, I compliment the two lads on the new initiative. This is something new in Ireland. I always like to see new initiatives. Obviously, as the Chairman said, getting off the ground is always a challenge. Funding for this project is essential.

The Senator mentioned the wool market. In fairness, and my colleague will speak about this in a moment, it is something we have been looking at in recent times. We are all looking at new initiatives. It is an excellent product, particularly in the context of insulation and where we stand with climate change and the refurbishing of houses. The problem we have is the price that is available for wool at the moment. It will not even cover the cost of shearing. Part of our submission is that we need a direct intervention to cover the cost of shearing. That would help to alleviate some of the problems we are experiencing in the sheep sector currently.

Moving on to Bord Bia, there are a few matters. We might refer to the beef situation back in 2019. What evolved from that was a beef price tracker. What is absolutely essential is that we would also have a lamb price tracker and be able to track the main markets to which we are exporting. That would be very important. It is absolutely essential that we seek out higher value markets for sheep meat. As we all know, sheep meat is a high-value product. In recessionary times, obviously, that is a challenge. That is where Bord Bia needs to put its attention to at the moment. It should seek out those higher value markets to ensure that we can get a better return from the marketplace. If the Chairman does not mind, I will hand over to my colleague because he has been dealing with the wool aspect of sheep.