Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

The report was detailed. There were over hundred pages in it. The report states: "While there are existing bodies and groups all active in the sector, there is a need for a representative body [that is, a wool council], with government support and close links to the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine." There were numerous recommendations, some of which apply to the wool council. For example, the report recommended the following but, importantly, did not place the responsibility on the wool council: training to be provided on wool handling, presentation, sorting and grading; data collection, in that there is a significant absence of data; the creation of an apprenticeship for which there is significant potential; determining the feasibility for scouring plant development and for wool testing; co-operatives; external programmes to promote Irish-grown wool; etc. When did all of those recommendations come under the remit of the wool council? Who made that decision or has it been made? Who is monitoring those recommendations?

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