Irish sheep farmers are turning to the Green Party to reverse the fall in wool prices.

At the height of the haircut season, farmers are once again preparing for bad returns for their wool, which Irish traders rate at just 50 cents per kilogram. Shearing a sheep costs 2-3 euros, depending on the size of the herd, and one sheep "gives" from 2 to 2.5 kg of wool.

Sales to China, which was once a leading buyer, plummeted, and farmers have very few other markets for selling their product. “We need to urgently take something, and we ask the Green Party to intervene and help. This problem is not being dealt with properly, and farmers suffer losses every year.

There must be ways to make good use of Irish wool so that farmers get it properly and not pay out of pocket, ”said John Brooks, former chairman of the sheep section of the Irish Cattle and Sheep Association.

Brooks and his colleagues have already met with members of the Green Party, including adviser Pippa Hackett, who runs an organic farm on the border of Lees and Offaly.

“Wool has been ignored for too long as a product. It is a “green”, low-carbon, sustainable, biodegradable product with unique properties in terms of insulation and cleanliness. I believe that Ireland can be a leader in promoting wool - whether it is textiles, insulation, packaging or fertilizers. All we need is political will and some innovation, but unfortunately this is not yet, ”said Pippa Hackett.

“Sheep farmers deserve better, and it would be great if wool became the valuable product that it once was,” summed up Advisor Hackett.