Erin McGreehan (Fianna Fail)
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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.

Pippa Hackett (Green Party)
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I thank Senator McGreehan for raising this issue, which is as close to her heart as it is to mine. The sheep sector is extremely important to the Cooley Peninsula and to County Louth as a whole. I agree wholeheartedly with all the positive benefits she has outlined in the context of wool.

The production of wool is an important aspect of the agriculture industry. According to data from the 2021 sheep census, there were just over 4 million sheep kept in registered herds in the country on 31 December 2021. This represents an increase of approximately 120,000 on the total numbers recorded for 2020. The sheep census also indicates an increase in the number of registered herds from 35,500 in 2020 to over 42,000 in 2021. Approximately 3 million sheep were slaughtered in 2021. In terms of producing wool for sale, farmers generally outsource the sheering of sheep and the selling of wool to agents. Officials in the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine oversee and inspect 41 approved and registered wool stores where wool is held while awaiting sale. Ireland has always had a reputation for producing wool. Irish genetic breeding standards, sheep care requirements and the availability of quality grass, water and nutritional supplementation on Irish sheep farms all contribute to this reputation. Irish sheep have a high animal health status. They are free from diseases such as sheep pox that, when present, downgrade wool quality. Furthermore, Irish sheep farmers follow strict biosecurity and quality assurance guidelines. The animal husbandry on Irish sheep farms also ensures that programmes are in place to control ectoparasites such as sheep scab that can downgrade wool quality where not controlled. All of these factors contribute to the excellent quality of Irish wool.

Most wool produced in Ireland is sold at the Bradford wool market in the UK. Current prices are disappointingly low. Industry sources have stated that wool prices for this year are similar to previous years, at around 20 cent per kilo for lowland wool. I know, first hand, how disappointing this is for sheep farmers who do such tremendous work to ensure the fleece is in good condition at shearing time.

One of the commitments in the current programme for Government is to conduct a review of the potential demand for wool-based products such as for insulation and fertilisers in domestic and international markets. Despite its versatility in many industries, wool prices remain low. In order to address this issue and seek a more favourable outlook for the future, I initiated a comprehensive review of the wool industry to explore market opportunities in order to maximise the potential of this valuable natural resource. Following the allocation of €100,000 funding in budget 2021 for this review, a public consultation process was initiated in March 2021 to determine the terms of reference and to invite interested stakeholders to submit their proposals on the potential market opportunities for wool products. There were 45 submissions made.

Following a competitive public procurement procedure, the Agile Executive, a consortium made up of experts from Munster Technological University and Donegal Yarns, was appointed in November 2021 to carry out the wool review and examine the submissions received under the public consultation process. The Agile Executive produced a report on the findings of the review. It was published in July 2022. This independently compiled report contains a number of findings and recommendations, including in respect of potential funding streams, market opportunities and multiple areas for additional research and development for wool. One of the main recommendations was the establishment of an independent wool council, led by industry, that would develop and promote Irish wool domestically and internationally and bring together multiple stakeholders to foster collaboration, innovation and scaling activities in the wool sector. It is envisaged that this council would be a forum where stakeholders could further examine and explore the potential uses for wool identified in the wool feasibility report.

When I launched the report, I called on stakeholders and industry to come together to form an independent, stakeholder-led wool council. I also committed that, following the formation by industry of a wool council representative of a broad range of stakeholders, my Department would provide financial assistance of €30,000 towards the initial set-up costs of the group. I am pleased to inform the House that a group of stakeholders from across the wool industry have taken the initial steps towards the formation of a wool council. My officials and I have been engaging with that group to ensure that farm organisations will form a part of this council along with other stakeholders.

I apologise for running over time a bit. I will be as quick as I can. Late last week, I received confirmation that the initial group of stakeholders which contacted my Department had engaged with farm organisations with a view to their inclusion in the council. The next logical step is a meeting between the relevant stakeholders and for the stakeholders to agree among themselves their common aims as a group, as well as agreeing the means by which the group wishes to go about completing the necessary formalities associated with its establishment. The next logical step is a meeting between the relevant stakeholders and for the stakeholders to agree among themselves their common aims as a group and the means by which it wishes to go about completing the necessary formalities associated with its establishment. While such formalities are likely to include proposed corporate governance structures, I have written to a representative of the stakeholders to suggest the Department give a brief presentation at their initial meeting as to the requirements that will need to be satisfied from the Department's perspective in order for the seed funding towards the establishment of the wool council to be drawn down.

An independent stakeholder-led Irish wool council is something we need to see established in the short term to help drive our ambitions for the industry, so I have suggested in the same correspondence that this initial meeting of stakeholders take place next month. The industry-led wool council will create a roadmap that will lead to greater returns for this natural and sustainable product. Having a wide range of interests represented in a body that acts as an Irish wool champion for the entire sector will help boost the industry and create a clearer vision of the future of Irish wool. It is my hope the council can build on the valuable findings of that report and create a pathway towards maximising the true potential of Irish wool. This can be an exciting time for the wool industry and we must all work hard together to deliver on that.

Erin McGreehan (Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister of State. It is good news that the meeting will start next month and I look forward to it. It is very important. Unfortunately, the wheels of bureaucracy turn slowly, and I reiterate there is a space for supporting sheep farmers in the new sheep improvement scheme. Being able to shear sheep is a sheep welfare issue. When the Minister of State said agents usually shear sheep, she made it sound as though there is a massive output, but it is usually a young farmer who shears a few other farmers' sheep. It is not a large agency that comes in to do it. Alternatively, it is done by farmers themselves, as is the case in the Cooley Peninsula. In any event, it costs a great deal to look after these sheep and shear their wool.

I look forward to further updates on this because it is very important.

Pippa Hackett (Green Party)
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I agree there is a great opportunity here. I recently saw some photos of what could have been an organic horticultural grower that was using wool in its polytunnels as the mulch and insulator, which it had bought from a neighbouring farmer, with nice symbiosis. That is just one example, and there are plenty of others throughout the country. I often get correspondence asking why we do not do this.

The opportunity is there and the sooner we get the wool council up and running, the better the outlook for our sheep farmers and that wonderful wool, which is always of high quality.