The Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers’ Association (ICSA) has welcomed today’s (Friday, July 1) publication of the long-awaited wool feasibility report.
The study has been produced by ‘The Agile Executive’; a consortium of experts from Munster Technological University (MTU) and Donegal Yarns.
It is recommending the establishment of an industry-led ‘wool council’ which would be tasked with developing and promoting the Irish-grown wool brand domestically and internationally.
The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) has comitted to provide €30,000 towards the initial set-up costs of the voluntary body.
ICSA Sheep chair Sean McNamara has welcomed the publication of the report, adding that the association has “fought hard” to make this happen on behalf of farmers.
“We established our own Wool Steering Group in 2020 which has now led to where we are today and the publication of this important study.
“Wool has been undervalued and under-utilised for far too long; now at last now we have a clear pathway towards maximising the true potential of this valuable natural resource,” he said.
“The establishment of a wool council and the proposed development of an Irish wool brand are hugely positives steps.
“The report has clearly identified the vast amount of uses for wool and it is particularly good to see the inclusion of wool-based fertiliser and insulation as key areas of potential growth,” McNamara stated.
Chair of the ICSA’s Wool Steering Group, Fergal Byrne added:
“The report illustrates the importance of capturing the benefits of wool as part of our increasingly important circular economy.
“With food and energy security at the fore globally it has never been more important to capitalise on all our domestically produced natural resources and wool is now no exception.
“The momentum is now there to drive on with revitalising the whole wool sector and ICSA looks forward to working as part of the wool council to ensure that happens,” Byrne concluded.