Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Senator for raising the matter. It is an extraordinary resource and it is regrettable, given the way markets have evolved, that a product of this quality, which is a natural fabric, has been displaced in many of its traditional markets over many years. We were probably all reared in households where there was always a ball of wool over the mantlepiece. That day is long gone. Synthetic fibres have displaced a lot of the traditional uses of wool. There are niche markets there, which we can support, and there is some activity in that area. I engaged with some people from Japan in my Department who are interested, in conjunction with Irish partners, in developing that market as an opportunity. It is a sign of the rapidly changing times that traditional uses are being displaced and we need to look at the other uses. As I outlined today, some of those uses may not be mainstream, such as pelleting for organic fertiliser and insulation. We have a huge job of work to do in this country to retrofit buildings for climate change purposes. Here is a natural product that could assist with that. There are opportunities. It is a question of the players working collaboratively to find out what the best market returns are, because sheep farming is a low-margin enterprise, and for many, shearing is a cost with little gain from the product shorn. It behoves all of us to work collaboratively to try to find new opportunities for that product.