Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

We are being very proactive in trying to identify new uses for wool. The completion of the report took longer than we had hoped but we were pushing hard to keep it moving along. Thankfully, we now have the report and it will be published in the next short period - over the next few weeks.

Our objective has to be to see how we can add value to wool. Its traditional use is in regard to clothing and while that market has become depressed, there are new potential uses for it. I hope this report will provide potential opportunities and then, as a Government, we will look to see how we can try to work on delivering on those opportunities. It is something we owe to our sheep farmers and also something we owe to the sustainability of the sector overall because it is such a tremendous natural product. We have to make sure we maximise its potential and its uses.

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