A new project funded by Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will look at researching and revitalising the Irish sheep and wool sectors in terms of industry, value and perception.

The three-year project, Regenerative Value Systems for Irish Grown Wool in Ireland (REVEIRE), has received €657,403 in funding and will begin its research from 31 March 2025.

Value chains

The project aims to research how materials, products and value chains for Irish wool can be enhanced as a means of improving Ireland’s sustainability in relation to the European Green Deal and the Circular Economy Action Plan.

Speaking to the Irish Farmers Journal, University College Cork (UCC) researcher and lecturer in processes and chemical engineering, Archishman Bose, said that there needs to be Irish data to make policy change.

“There is no life cycle or sustainability assessment for sheep wool in Ireland,” he said.

“The problem is, if you have to lobby, you need data. One of the arguments that we’re saying is it’s not fair for the Government to give subsidies based on Australian data.”

Wool is a renewable material with uses in textiles, packaging, environmental purposes, and high-value materials such as lanolin and keratin.

Ireland currently produces around 7m kilogrammes of wool from approximately 4m sheep or 35,000 flocks.

However, due to low wool prices, lack of market demand and information and validation, it continues to be categorised as category three waste material.

Additionally, Irish wool is industrially scoured abroad which means that returned clean wool may contain other varieties and cannot be termed Irish-grown wool.

“Wool that was such a profitable market is now a burden for the farmer.

“If we are to do scouring, we will look at the socio-economic model. We want to look at the emissions savings but if there is a rural depopulation, can we add more value for the farmers? It’s not just about the emissions; it’s about the economy or the social impacts.”

Perception of sheep

The latest National Farm Survey showed the average age of sheep farmers in Ireland is 56, while only 32% of sheep farmers over 60 have identified a successor for their farm.

Bose added that people’s perception of sheep and the industry “could be a challenge”.

“There are loads of people, even students in UCC, who I was telling about this [project] and they say, ‘Oh, my grandfather/grandmother, they used to spin [wool]’. It’s almost a dying art and a lost trade.

“We also know that some people say they don’t like sheep, ‘they eat all of our trees and make our lands barren’. We have written in that proposal that we want to say what is ideal number of sheep per hectare in Ireland. There’s a value in Chile and the UK, and they don’t agree.

“We want to start the ball rolling on this research because we believe it’s neither ‘no sheep’ nor ‘only sheep’ being the answer, there is an answer midway.”