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

I am very interested to learn more about that co-operative approach. I assure the Deputy that although we sometimes get caught up in discussing brand new and shiny initiatives that have never been done before, as far as I am concerne, as Minister of State with responsibility for new market development, it is not about reinventing the wheel; it is actually about looking at indigenous elements of trade that had great value for farmers in the past but that have lost that value in more recent times. I am happy to discuss further with the Deputy the initiatives that are happening in his constituency. He will be aware there were 3.88 million sheep in the State as of 31 December 2020. Market forces and demand dictate prices in industries such as the wool industry. It moves in cycles and the current cycle, in the context of the Bradford wool market in the United Kingdom that tends to set the price, is very low. As such, any new opportunities we can find to work together or to take new approaches such as a co-operative approach are something I am very happy to seek to extend further. The report offers a great opportunity to identify all opportunities in the sector.

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