Service providers wishing to complete the Department’s wool feasibility study can now submit tenders for the review, Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture Hackett has announced.

The process will seek to attract those with the expertise needed to compile the report on the possible national and international markets for wool-based products.

The submission stage of the tendering process will remain open until 5pm on 9 August.

“Wool is plentiful in this country. It is a sustainable and renewable product, so it makes great sense for us to see where its potential lies,” stated Minister Hackett.

“As a sheep farmer myself, I am only too aware of the amount of wool, sheared in the last couple of months, which cannot command a good price.

"We must change that by finding new ways of using it and new markets,” she said.

Potential uses

The report will seek to assess potential uses for wool, such as in the manufacture of insulation and alternative fertilisers, as well as establishing the feasibility of converting Irish wool into these end products of higher value than unprocessed fleeces.

“I want it to look at the potential demand in domestic and international markets for wool-based products, taking into account the submissions received in the recent stakeholder engagement survey, and I expect it to be completed by November.

“While its use in textiles is of course established, it is also an organic, low-carbon, natural material which can perhaps be used, viably, in a wide range of products such as fertilisers, insulation and packaging,” the minister said.