Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Absolutely. In many ways, the bioeconomy looks at the opportunities in products we previously saw as only having one direct use or outcome. In my Department and in my area of responsibility for research and development, we seek to use that money we invest in research and development to develop new opportunities in those areas. The bioeconomy is another way of taking one element of an activity we have done in the past and finding more streams in it.

If the Deputy looks at some of the initiatives we have been involved with in the early stages, there is a development of a carbon-neutral demonstration farm in Shinagh dairy farm in County Cork that has found four different values for what was normally growing-grass for dairy cows. There are now four different values to that. There is no reason wool cannot be the same. If the Deputy has specific examples from his constituency in County Kerry he would like me to analyse further with him, I am happy to do so. The bioeconomy, however, is about getting into biorefinery and identifying those additional opportunities to see how we can add value to them.

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