Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (Senator Pippa Hackett):

To clarify, the €30,000 is to help the establishment of the wool council. Once the council has been established, it is up to it, as the industry stakeholders, to come together with the ideas. Who knows what lies ahead? I urge the stakeholders to do that very swiftly.

I would welcome any all-island approach and support the council may well achieve and engagement with farmers and stakeholders in Northern Ireland also.

I acknowledge the potential benefits and uses of wool, of which there are many. Insulation is one aspect. We are engaging with the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage on decarbonising housing, full stop. Timber has a significant role to play in that regard. If wool is an element too, that would be very exciting. However, we must achieve certain changes to aspects of building regulations in terms of fire safety and so forth. We are engaging on all sorts of aspects of housing.

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