A GOVERNMENT initiative to support and create employment in the marine sector is due to issue its first report shortly, the Minister of State for Fisheries has said.
Tony Killeen said an inter-departmental group on the coastal sector was established almost a year ago by the Taoiseach’s department, and aimed to identify obstacles to employment opportunities.
Speaking in Galway, where he opened the annual Irish Skipper Expo, Mr Killeen said that unlike other industries which “employed thousands and ran into the sand”, the marine sector still offered “tremendous opportunities” and sustained more than 11,000 jobs.
Allied Irish Banks, which is a sponsor of the Galway inshore exhibition, confirmed that it had €260 million invested in loans in the industry and was “committed” to its future.
Mr Killeen has been chairing the inter-departmental group. He said it had dealt over the past year with some “sensitive” issues including potential conflicts between different parts of the marine sector and compliance with EU directives.
He did not envisage that marine would be restored to a full Cabinet posting by the Taoiseach in the impending reshuffle. He has been tipped as one of several Munster TDs who might succeed Willie O’Dea as defence minister.
A decision by Brian Cowen’s predecessor Bertie Ahern eight years ago to drop the marine brief from Cabinet led to a dismantling of the original marine department and eventual transfer of the fisheries function back to the Department of Agriculture in 2007.
Mr Killeen said he was “heartened” to see eight young Irish deckhands had qualified under Bord Iascaigh Mhara (BIM) training schemes this year at a challenging time for the sector. Edgar McGuinness from Donegal was also presented with the BIM commercial fishing student of the year award.
A number of BIM schemes on the catching and inshore sector were also initiated by Mr Killeen, amounting to almost €2 million in grant-aid. He was also presented with a review of Irish shellfisheries by BIM and the Marine Institute.
** The port of Galway will soon learn whether it has been successful in its bid to secure a leg in the next Volvo Ocean Yacht Race.
Further details of the new route for the prestigious race in 2011- 2012 are due to be announced today and Wednesday by the international organisers. Galway, which hosted the first Irish leg of the race last year and attracted over 650,000 visitors, is competing with Lorient, France, and Lisbon, Portugal, for the Atlantic stop-over.