A new €20 million marine research initiative aimed at Irish and international scientists is due to be announced today by Minister for the Marine Noel Dempsey.
A separate "Nobel-type" prize for world-class marine research will also be initiated by the Minister when he publishes the State's new seven-year strategy for marine science in Galway.
Climate change, renewable ocean energy, sustainable seafood production, fossil fuel exploration and shipping are among the many areas identified in the strategy, which aims to generate €1.5 billion from the island's marine economy. It is expected to emphasise Ireland's potential to become a "world leader" in marine renewable energy.
As part of the Government's ocean energy strategy, a second wave-energy buoy being tested off north Galway is yielding "positive" results, according to the Marine Institute and Sustainable Energy Ireland (SEI).
The "buoy" or small barge, designed by Cork company Ocean Energy Ltd, has survived violent storms since it was anchored off Spiddal in December.
A previous prototype had to be repaired after one of the summer's first Atlantic gales - demonstrating the "ferocious amount of power out there", according to its manufacturer. Ireland has one of the most energetic wave climates in the world, matched only by northwest America.
