Brendan Griffin (Kerry, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for the update. I encourage all efforts to ensure the wool council is a success. I acknowledge the support from the Department by way of seed funding. I especially acknowledge the fact it is an all-island body. That is very welcome here, as it is in every aspect of life.

I have spoken to a number of farmers and people living in rural communities in Kerry who want to explore various ideas for other uses that could be found for wool other than the more traditional uses. There seems to be a difficulty for people exploring ideas and getting feedback. For example, one person was on to me who was looking to do something with wool on the insulation front. They are finding it difficult, even with the assistance of other State agencies, to get anything substantial in the type of information they would need to develop a business further, access to finance and so on. Is there any advice the Minister of State could give to such people or is there any help available within her Department to assist such entrepreneurs?

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