Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) Pippa Hackett has suggested that a meeting of stakeholders to establish a new wool council should take place next month.
The minister yesterday (Tuesday, November 22) told the Seanad that representatives from the wool industry have taken “the initial steps” to form the national authority.
The establishment of an industry-led all-island council to champion the Irish-grown wool brand was one of the main recommendations of the Agile Executive report which was published in July.
The government-funded report stated that this group 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.
Wool Council
In response to a question from Fianna Fáil Senator Erin McGreehan, Minister Hackett said that despite its versatility in many industries, wool prices remain “disappointingly low”.
Hackett said that the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) has already committed to provide €30,000 towards the initial set-up costs of a wool council.
The minister has written to a representative of the industry stakeholders suggesting that the department make a brief presentation at their initial meeting to outline the requirements to draw down that seed fundings.
“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,” Hackett said.
Senator Erin McGreehan told the Seanad that it is wrong farmers are not getting a return for wool which is “one of the most regenerative and sustainable products”.
“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 (SIS),” the Louth senator said.
McGreehan said that the payment could help farmers with the costs of shearing and handling wool, along with sorting and bagging the product for wool merchants.
“Being able to shear sheep is a sheep welfare issue,” she added.