Erin McGreehan (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State and thank her for coming to the House. I requested this Commencement debate because it is a very important topic for 35,000 sheep farmers in the country and is particularly of huge interest for farmers in County Louth who have nearly 70,000 sheep between them. Today I am asking what actions have been taken by the Department since the wool feasibility study was published last July and for an update on the establishment of the Irish wool council to which the Department has committed €30,000 to help establish.

I do not have to tell the Minister of State about what an incredible product wool is but for the record it is one of the most regenerative and sustainable products known to us. The fleece grows every year and needs to be sheared off to keep the sheep in good condition. Wool is such a valuable resource and until modern times was the very fabric of our clothes and the bedding we slept in. Wool lasts longer than synthetic fibres and requires washing at lower temperatures. It is recyclable, biodegradable and does not contribute to any microplastic pollution. Wool can act as a fertiliser, releasing nutrients and carbon back into the soil when disposed of. It does not accumulate in landfill or oceans as it biodegrades naturally. There are so many other reasons to be positive about wool but sadly we are failing to act swiftly enough on this in so many ways.

The first is by not utilising the product adequately; the second is by not educating consumers effectively; the third is by not creating a market and supporting and assisting producers and processors and the final way is by not supporting the farmers to deal with the wool. The ignoring of the situation by successive Governments has led to a situation where the value of wool is so low it is costing the farmer to clip their sheep and they do not make any profit on the product. This is a greatest of all sins in my opinion. I am old enough to remember selling wool at the end of the summer and we would pick up every scrap of wool off the ground and our fields because it was worth something. It was important and it was valuable. Now there is no support from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine to deal with this.

There is a short-term way to support farmers. They could be supported by making an additional payment to the new sheep improvement scheme that was opened by the Department today. It could specifically assist farmers with the costs associated with shearing and handling wool, and sorting out the dagging and the bagging of wool in a clean way, which has to be done for the wool merchant. It would be a really important way and a positive opportunity to assist and support farmers.

As the Minister of State is probably aware, Ulster Wool scheme is a farmer-owned co-operative has been hailed as an example of collective marketing and praised for its success in improving prices for sheep farmers in Northern Ireland. In Northern Ireland, they are selling wool through the Ulster Wool scheme and there are huge opportunities for all of us to work together to develop a unique brand for Irish wool. I believe in this work and that is why I have asked the Minister of State for an update today because it is really important and I have no doubt but that the Minister of State is a big advocate and a pusher of this project.