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the Centre for Applied Bioscience Research’s Springwool Project Receives Over Half a Million in Funding
A project led by the Centre for Applied Bioscience Research, and delivered through Munster Technological University, Technological University of the Shannon, University College Dublin, and Atlantic Technological University has received €574,683 in funding from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, which was publicly announced as part of the €22.3 million the Department is providing for 21 new research projects.
The project is called ‘SPRINGWOOL,’ and it aims to remove obstacles and provide a platform for innovation in the Irish-grown wool sector, a sector in which supporting innovation and key research is essential to ensure its competitiveness in the global market.
Ireland has a long tradition of producing wool, with over €3 million worth of wool being exported from Ireland in 2022, making Ireland one of the top 30 largest wool exporters in the world. The importance of the project lies in the current situation of Irish farmers and how little they get in return for their wool. It now costs an Irish farmer around three euros and fifty cents to shear a sheep, but the farmer only receives 20 cents per kilogram for the fleece. The target of the SPRINGWOOL project is to help the Irish wool sector by supporting key research in this area.
Minister Heydon, who was speaking at the event, said:
This investment will help equip the Irish agriculture, food, forest, and bioeconomy sectors with the science and technology they need to become even more sustainable and competitive into the future.
Centre Manager of the Shannon Applied Biotechnology Centre, Dr Tim Yeomans, said:
We are delighted to receive this funding from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine to support the Irish-grown wool sector. This is the most significant amount of funding ever allocated to wool research in Ireland and was driven by the publishing of the Wool Feasibility Study in 2022, and with the support of the Irish Grown Wool Council and the Wool Research Hub. Given the opportunities for Irish-grown wool, we feel it will be the first of many projects that will help to support and develop this sector and provide a fair return to farmers for what should be a valuable resource.