Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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58. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine further to Parliamentary Question No. 92 of 25 April 2024, to provide an update on the work of the wool council; if the €30,000 in departmental funding has been drawn down to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25540/24]

Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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I am seeking an update on the work of the wool council. Of the €30,000 allocated to the wool council, how much, if any, has been drawn down? Where are we at with regard to the recommendations from the consultants who carried out a report on the potential for wool?

Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (Senator Pippa Hackett):

I thank the Deputy for her continued interest in this important issue. As she is aware, the independent Irish Grown Wool Council was established in April 2023 following recommendations from the wool feasibility study. To support this establishment, my Department committed €30,000 in seed funding, as the Deputy outlined. It had its first annual general meeting in February 2024. This Irish Grown Wool Council reorganised its committee structures and appointed an interim chair from 1 March to 1 June of this year. A new interim chair was appointed on 2 June 2024. I have bumped into many of its members in the past year at various events, such as agricultural and craft shows and so forth. Its organisational structure can be found on its website, irishgrownwoolcouncil.com.

Of the €30,000 about which the Deputy asked, €15,383 has been drawn down to date. A further claim has recently been submitted to my Department and is currently being processed by my officials. I do not have the value of that particular drawdown.

Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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I thank the Minister of State for the update. The programme for Government contains a promise and an objective that the Government would explore the range of possibilities with wool. In the 21st century and in the face of climate change, it is just extraordinary that wool is classified as a waste product is just extraordinary. I am trying to get to a point where there is a thriving industry encompassing the range of possibilities wool presents. The Minister of State is far more familiar with this issue than I am, but I have made myself familiar with those possibilities, which range from insulation to medical products and cosmetics. We are wasting this product by classifying it as waste.

As for the wool council, I am on record as saying the whole thing is very woolly. This is a golden opportunity, no more than that of seaweed, for sustainable industry, particularly along the west coast. How do we get from classifying wool as waste, and farmers being paid absolutely nothing, to achieving a thriving industry? I am not sure whether the wool council, with its two interim chairs, is the right mechanism. I welcome it as a start but what are the Department, the Minister of State and the Minister doing to lead this?

Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (Senator Pippa Hackett):

I share the Deputy’s passion for wool and the value it could provide to society and the economy and, ultimately, to sheep farmers. I am a sheep farmer and we sheared our sheep this week. As we established the independent review, which recommended that the best way to explore the opportunities for Irish-grown wool is through the establishment of the council, we must, at this stage, support the council in everything it does.

I would like the council to come back to me to present proposals that might work. Ultimately, the council is more of an expert on this than I am or my Department officials are. Its members are the shearers, wool merchants, crafters and innovators. The Deputy is correct in listing all the potentials of wool. They are vast and go far beyond what ordinary people think of when they think of wool. They probably just think of a woolly jumper that is slightly itchy, but there is much more potential in this regard. The challenge is that although that potential has been tapped in other countries and jurisdictions, it has not yet attracted that investment in Ireland. What we are ultimately trying to achieve here is a demand for the products which can come from wool and to build on that through investment, either from a broader scope or within this country.

Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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The demand is there. This was included in the programme for Government in 2020. It is now 2024. It took up to 1 July 2022 to get the report. It took another length of time to establish a council. There was an interim chair and now there is another interim chair. We are still wondering whether there is a demand but, in the 21st century, having declared a climate and biodiversity emergency, the obvious answer is to build sustainable industries around wool, along with seaweed, to empower local people to live sustainably and also to give an alternative to our utter reliance on foreign direct investment. We have Enterprise Ireland, Údarás na Gaeltachta and IDA Ireland and there is any amount of money for small companies and start-up companies but absolutely nothing in respect of wool.

We have to move beyond the wool council. The Minister of State needs to show leadership and direct the wool council. It may be independent in the sense it has been set up independently, but that was a Government choice. The Government can give it directions as to when it will produce a report. How well is it being financed and resourced to do something four years after the programme for Government committed to it being done?

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Ceann Comhairle)
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Will the wool council be a bit less woolly?

Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (Senator Pippa Hackett):

According to Deputy Connolly, it is woolly enough. I share the frustrations. It seems slow but at least there is a council now.

Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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I would love it if the Minister of State shared the possibilities and the potential around wool.

Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (Senator Pippa Hackett):

I absolutely share those as well. In fact, there are small industries already trading in Irish wool, whether that is in the context of fertiliser or production. I accept that it is not large enough. There are companies making pillows and bedding out of wool. I was quite proud that the Irish Grown Wool Council contacted many Ministers attending St. Patrick’s Day parades and give them Irish-grown wool scarfs and gifts – it was 60% Irish-grown wool as we do not have 100% Irish-grown wool products - to bring abroad to showcase what we can do.

The feasibility study showed that this is the mechanism by which we will get there. As I said, I look forward to receiving proposals that should be funded. I do not think anyone is against funding it but the figures have to add up and it has to look like it is going to be profitable. Ultimately, we are getting there. I would love to see it established much more quickly and to have a viable sector for wool and those who produce the wool.