Wool council has been formed
The Department of Agriculture has committed to providing €30,000 in financial assistance to the initial set-up costs of the council.
A new wool council was formed in Athlone on Wednesday.
One of the key recommendations made in a €100,000 wool feasibility study published last summer was the establishment of an independent wool council, to be industry-led and contain stakeholders from the wool sector including farm organisations, merchants, and those in research.
These industry members first met in December as the initial first step towards officially forming the council.
The Department of Agriculture has committed to providing €30,000 in financial assistance to the initial set-up costs of the council.
The council will work on developing and promoting Irish wool domestically and internationally.
At a recent meeting of the Oireachtas joint committee on agriculture, food and the marine, the Irish Farmers’ Association said that amid the “income crisis” sheep farmers are currently experiencing, they are continuing to suffer the impact of the collapsed wool market.
The current state of the wool sector in Ireland is "a clear sign of policies that are not working", Cork South-West TD and Social Democrats leader Holly Cairns has said.
In the Dáil recently, Ms Cairns and other TDs urged for measures to be put in place by Government to support the sector.
Ms Cairns said that there is still a "long way to go before wool can be a strong contributor to rural economies".
"It is fair to say that despite a long tradition of wool produce in Ireland, the wool sector has been significantly underappreciated and undervalued in recent times," she said.
"Instead of having a robust and innovative rural sector, low prices and other uncertainties and Government policies have negatively impacted on sheep farmers and the wool industry."
