Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

As Deputy Connolly will be aware, one of the commitments in the current programme for Government is to conduct a review of the potential demand for wool-based products, such as for insulation and fertilisers in domestic and international markets. There is huge potential for us to develop a wool industry here in Ireland to help to drive increased returns to our sheep farming families. Over the last couple of years, for a product that used to be quite valuable, it has not been covering the costs of clipping.

In March last year, I initiated a public consultation to identify terms of reference for this review and the Minister of State, Senator Hackett, has worked to bring this forward. The agreed terms of reference were as follows: identification and assessment of market opportunities domestically and internationally for wool-based products; carrying out economic feasibility and cost-benefit analysis on proposed market opportunities; determining mechanisms that could be used to support industry initiatives; and identification of potential research projects applicable to supporting the identified market opportunities. Respondents were also asked to make recommendations on potential domestic and international market opportunities for wool products. Forty-five stakeholder submissions were received.

The request for tenders seeking service providers to carry out this study was published in July 2021 through a competitive public procurement procedure and five tenders were received. In November 2021, I appointed “The Agile Executive”, a consortium of experts from Munster Technological University and Donegal Yarns, to conduct this study. The expert group was contracted to conduct the review in accordance with the terms of reference. The final report has been received and is expected to be published in the coming weeks. Given that wool is a natural substance that is sustainable, organic and renewable and can be used in a variety of products such as textiles, fertiliser and insulation, it makes great sense to investigate its potential.

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