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Galway East TD Seán Canney has called for a grant for farmers of €5 per sheep to help with the cost of shearing, which he said is a ‘huge burden’ for family farms.
The Independent TD said that wool has been ‘undervalued and under-utilised’ for far too long and welcomed a recent Wool Feasibility Study which highlighted the many uses for wool.
He said that the establishment of a Wool Council and the proposed development of an Irish wool brand are positive steps, but called on the Government to immediately put a scheme in place to support farmers in defraying the cost of shearing sheep.
“The report illustrates the importance of capturing the benefits of wool as part of our increasingly important circular economy,” said Deputy Canney.
“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 that 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 farmers,” he said.
