Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 8 March 2023
278. Deputy Catherine Connolly asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine further to Parliamentary Question No. 163 of 8 December 2022, the status of the establishment of the wool council; if the promised €30,000 for initial set-up costs has been drawn down to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11952/23]
View answerAs the Deputy is aware, one of the main recommendations of the Wool Review Report which was published in July 2022, was the establishment of an independent Wool Council led by industry. It is envisaged that the Council would develop and promote Irish wool domestically and internationally and bring together multiple stakeholders to foster collaboration, innovation and scaling activities in the wool sector.
It would also be a forum where stakeholders would further examine and explore the potential uses for wool identified in the Wool Review Report. In support of the Wool Council my Department has committed to providing €30,000 in financial assistance towards the initial set-up costs.
In December 2022, a meeting of the stakeholders interested in forming a Wool Council took place. This group discussed their common aims as well as agreeing to establish an stakeholder led working group to take the next steps in formally establishing the Wool Council. Officials from my Department also attended this meeting to outline the criteria needed to draw down the seed funding of €30,000, which was announced in July 2022.
The next meeting of the Wool Council stakeholder group is set to take place in the coming weeks where it is understood that the draft terms of reference will be presented and nominations for Council Officers will be sought. Once established, the Council will be able to start to drawdown the €30,000 committed as required.
It is my hope that the Council will bring wool stakeholders across Ireland together to achieve more commercially and ultimately generate additional income for the primary producers.
Wool is a tremendous product - it is durable, versatile and sustainable. It is my ambition that the new Wool Council will help drive further value for wool to benefit our sheep farmers.
