Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this topic, however briefly. I thank Deputy Mattie McGrath and the other Deputies who put pressure on the Dáil Business Committee to put this on the agenda of the House. In the short time available, I would like to zone in on the feasibility study that was done, as referred to earlier by Deputy Carthy. When we asked questions about the very low prices that farmers were getting for their sheep, we were told to wait until the feasibility study was published. That was nine months ago, the length of a pregnancy, but the only thing that has been created as a result of that pregnancy is a wool council, about which we know very little. Where is the wool council at? How many times has it met? What are its terms of reference? I would be grateful if the Minister of State could provide details on that.

In some ways the feasibility study is woolly and difficult to understand, but in other ways it is concise and very well put. It is a funny mixture and reads as if there were different writers involved. The key economic concern for producers, which has been said repeatedly for the last two hours, is that the price being achieved by farmers is less than the cost of shearing. The authors go on to tell us, which is fantastic, that there is a range of possibilities for farmers. After Covid and after we have declared a climate and biodiversity emergency, this is something we should be embracing. This is a wonderful, good news story that should be led by the Government and the Department. The authors tell us of the possibilities for wool in a whole range of areas. Wool is currently classed as a waste product, despite the effort that farmers are putting into it. The authors of the feasibility study recommend that we look at horticulture and the possibilities of composting and pelleting and at construction and the possibilities for insulation, cement and packaging. They also recommended considering wool in the context of filled products such as bedding and mattresses, textiles, composites, medical devices, biotechnology and cosmetics. Then they make very specific recommendations, some of which will be the responsibility of the wool council. These include establishing a wool hull, determining the feasibility of wool testing facility and so on. The report also made a number of other recommendations, one of the most basic one being the collection of data on Irish-grown wool. It also recommended that training be provided on wool handling, presentation, sorting and grading and the creation of an apprenticeship model.

My time has run out so I will hand over to my colleague.

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