Independent TD for Galway East, Seán Canney has called on the government to establish a scheme to support farmers in terms of sheep shearing,
Deputy Canney has welcomed the publication of the long-awaited Wool Feasibility Study. He said: “Wool has been undervalued and under-utilised for far too long, and now we have a clear pathway towards maximising the true potential of this valuable natural resource.”
“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,” the deputy added.
Sheep shearing
The independent TD has called on the government to immediately put a scheme in place to support farmers in defraying the cost of shearing sheep as an interim measure.
“A grant of €5/sheep would help farmers as the cost of shearing is now a huge burden on family farms,” he stressed.
Deputy Canney added that the report highlights the importance of capturing the benefits of wool as part of the increasingly important circular economy.
“With food and energy security in focus globally, it has never been more important to capitalise on all our domestically produced natural resources and wool is very simple example of how we can achieve this,” he said.
“The potential is in wool and we need to use this feasibility study as a pathway to revitalise the Irish wool industry. However, we need immediate supports for the sheep farmer,” he concluded.
Wool feasibility report
The wool feasibility report recommended the establishment of an industry-led all-island council to champion the Irish-grown wool brand.
The long-awaited ‘Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine; Review of Market Opportunities for Irish Grown Wool Based Products’ was published last week (Friday, July 1).
It has been produced by ‘The Agile Executive’; a consortium of experts from Munster Technological University (MTU) and Donegal Yarns.
The report recommends that the council should include a mixture of farmers and stakeholders, including successful commercial enterprises who should be willing to fund research and promotions.