Government seeks boost from sea-related sectors

The Government is looking to boost revenue from the sea-related sectors of the economy by around €2 billion by 2020.

Taoiseach Enda Kenny formally launched the country’s new marine plan — entitled Harnessing Our Ocean Wealth — at the Marine Institute in Galway yesterday. He described the plan to further tap into the €1.2 trillion global ocean wealth market; which encompasses seafood, tourism, renewable energy and oil and gas exploration; as a dynamic plan that will “dramatically improve our ability, as a nation and people, to harness our ocean wealth”.

Ireland generates revenues of around €3.4bn from its ocean-related sectors but hopes to boost that to €6.4bn by 2020. The Government is also aiming to double the value of the country’s ocean wealth to 2.4% of GDP by 2030, which would exceed the global average of 2% of GDP and edge closer to the EU average of 3% to 5% of GDP. It said such targets are ambitious but realistic.

“The Government is determined it (ocean wealth) will be a key component of our economic recovery and sustainable growth generating social, economic and cultural benefits for all,” Mr Kenny said.

The next two years will see the Government develop an enterprise strategy to generate momentum in specific market opportunities such as offshore renewable energy and services and biotechnology. An integrated approach to marine and coastal planning and licensing will also be a priority and will focus. A maritime spatial planning framework will be developed.

Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Simon Coveney, added: “For too long we have turned our backs on the sea and it’s time now to look to our ocean as a national asset, to harness the opportunities for economic recovery.

We need to treasure what we have and protect it for future generations,” he said.