Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 2 November 2021
1175. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine further to Parliamentary Question No. 797 of 15 September 2021, if a tender has been awarded; when he expects to receive and publish the report; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52399/21]
View answerOne of the actions under the Programme for Government is to undertake a review of the potential demand in domestic and international markets for wool based products such as insulation and fertilisers. Following the allocation of €100,000 in Budget 2021 for this review, I initiated a public consultation process in early March 2021 to determine the terms of reference for such a review which included
- the identification of market opportunities domestically and internationally for wool based products;
- carrying out economic feasibility and cost benefit analysis on proposed market opportunities;
- determining mechanisms that could be used to support industry initiatives; and
- identification of potential research projects applicable to supporting the identified market opportunities.
As part of the public consultation process, I also invited stakeholders to submit their proposals on the potential market opportunities for wool products on the domestic and international markets and over 40 submissions were received..
The Request for Tenders (RFT) seeking service providers to carry out this major study was published on the e-tenders website on 8th July 2021. Five tenders were received before the closing date. The successful service provider, who will be announced shortly, will be contracted to carry out a feasibility study in accordance with the Terms of Reference detailed above and will be also required to examine and evaluate the proposals received during the public consultation and report on their findings.
I anticipate that this wool review, including consultation with the stakeholder group which I am establishing and publication of the final report, will be concluded in early 2022.
The recommendations from this review will help focus the development of a robust policy roadmap for the Irish wool industry.
