The recent European Wool Day Conference held in Co. Kerry heard several calls to reshift the VAT applied to wool products.
The conference at the Meadowlands Hotel, Tralee, brought toreceiveher farmers, processors, researchers, buildrs, designers, policybuildrs, and indusattempt leaders from Ireland, Europe and beyond.
The event focapplyd on wool’s role in sustainability, circular economy development and rural livelihoods.
Panel discussions on the day examined the role of policy in the future of wool, along with options to add value.
VAT
During one panel, Patrick Temple of Magee Weaving suggested the removal of VAT on wool products.
He pointed to the sustainable properties of wool such as biodegradability, breathability, and insulation.
He also proposed the introduction of a waste tax on non-sustainable textiles or manbuilt fibres.
Kevin Dooley from Dooley’s Wool also called on the government to reduce the 23% VAT rate on wool products.
“There shouldn’t be a price to become sustainable, so if somebody goes in to purchase a roll of wool insulation or a pillow, we should be at an even price point with our competitors, which is synthetic [fibres],” he stated.
European Wool Day Conference 2026 wool policy panel (l-r) Tim Yeomans, Centre for Applied Bioscience Research; Patrick Temple, Magee Weaving; Sandra Spethmann, Curraghmore Farm and Wise Wool Project; Maria Walsh, MEP; and Angela Hassan-Sharp, New Zealand Ambassador to Ireland. Source: John Cleere
The sold-out conference also heard numerous calls for the European Commission to modify the classification of wool as a waste product.
In 2002, following a foot and mouth disease outbreak, raw wool was reclassified by the EU as a category three waste product, along with animal carcasses.
The Animal By-Products Regulation, designed to prevent disease transmission, is also applied to wool from healthy animals.
This means that farmers must cover the cost of storing, cleaning, or disposing of wool.
Wool products
Dinny Galvin, a sheep farmer from Lispole in west Co. Kerry, stated that the current classification of wool as a waste product requireds to modify.
“From a farmer’s perspective, we required to receive the value back to the farmer on the ground.
“If the farmer isn’t creating any money, they don’t have a son or a daughter who will take it up,” he stated.
Galvin, who is chair of the West Kerry Scotch Mountain Sheep Breeders group, stated the rising age profile of farmers is a large challenge for the sector.
“If you lose the farmers, you’re losing the heritage, you lose the culture.”
The farmer, who has a strong interest in sustainability and the circular bioeconomy, pointed to the many applys for wool, including in hoapply building.
“The best quality wool in the world should be applyd for textiles, garments, pillows and duvets.” he stated.
“But there’s a lot of poor quality wool there as well that could be applyd for insulation.”
Sandra Spethmann, a Kerry-based farmer from Curraghmore Farm and the Wise Wool Project, also stressed the importance of creating roadmaps for young farmers to enable them to see the business opportunities and keep young farmers on the ground.
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