Taoiseach’s support for new marine plan seen as strong political statement
HARNESSING OUR OCEAN WEALTH, the government’s much-anticipated Integrated Marine Plan has been unveiled by An Taoiseach Enda Kenny who says that no effort will be spared implementing it.
Subtitled a roadmap ‘for integrated actions’ the plan expects to see Ireland, for the first time, evolve ‘a system of policy and programme planning’ for its maritime affairs. Nevertheless, it cautions that it will have to be achieved ‘within the over-riding medium term fiscal framework and budgetary targets adopted by the Government’.
Taoiseach Enda Kenny launches Harnessing our Ocean Wealth. Photo Dave Ruffles
The plan sets the ambitious twin target to increase the turnover from Ireland’s ocean economy to more than €6.4bn by 2020, and to double the value of its ocean wealth to 2.4% of GDP by 2030.
It states: ‘Our ocean is a national asset, supporting a diverse marine economy with vast potential to tap into a €1,000bn global marine market for seafood, tourism, oil and gas, marine renewable energy, and new applications for health, medicine and technology. In 2007 Ireland generated 1.2% of GDP (€2.4bn) from its ocean economy. While the EU Commission estimates that in 2007 between 3% and 5% of Europe’s GDP was generated from sea-related industries and services‘.
For the period 2012-2014, fifteen actions are identified for implementation. Among these is a call for the development of an enterprise strategy aimed at generating momentum in potentially lucrative sectors such as offshore renewables, offshore services, and marine and coastal planning.
‘This will focus on addressing deficiencies in the current and licensing system as well as developing an appropriate Maritime Spatial Planning Framework for Ireland,’ it suggests.
The plan also identifies three high-level goals – based on the concept of sustainable development – as being of equal importance:
Goal 1 focuses on a thriving maritime economy whereby Ireland harnesses the market opportunities to achieve economic recovery and socially-inclusive sustainable growth
Goal 2 sets out to achieve healthy ecosystems that provide monetary and non-monetary goods and services such as food, climate, health and well-being
Goal 3 aims to increase our engagement with the sea to strengthen our maritime identity and increase our awareness of the value, opportunities and social benefits of engaging with the sea.
Introducing the plan at the Marine Institutem An Taoiseach Enda Kenny described it as an imaginative and workable marine strategy which his government would waste no time in implementing.
“I came here today to launch this plan and to send the strongest signal that my government is backing it. I hope also that my presence her will be seen as a political statement about where I stand with regard to the marine sector. I firmly believe in this plan and that it will bring huge economic benefits the generations coming after us”, he declared.
“With such an impressive plan now before us there is no time to loose. I’m not going to listen to those who will say that it cannot be implemented, or that bureaucracy and red tape will strangle it. The business of government is to deal with all of that by opening the doors of opportunity”.
Taking the long-term view An Taoiseach said he was confident that the plan would be seen by future generations as the platform from which Ireland launched her first integrated marine strategy.
“I’d like to think that perhaps in twenty years the people on this island who are deriving economic benefit from the judicious use of the seas will look back and say this plan is what initiated Ireland’s focus on marine activities.
“I don’t want this plan to sit on a shelf gathering dust – and believe you me, it wont. We’ve already seen the pages of too many past reports becoming glued together through inactivity and time. This strategy for the marine is far too important for both our country, our economy and the next generation to let that happen.”
Also throwing his weight behind the new plan, Minister for Agriculture Food and the Marine Simon Coveney compared it to the highly successful Food Harvest 2020 strategy which was launched for the Agri sector last year.
“When Food Harvest 2020 was launched, nobody noticed. Now however, people are announcing new initiatives in the food sector, and referring back to the business plan that was put in place. People began to realise that this was a real working business plan – a key road map for the sector.
“I predict that Harvesting Our Ocean Wealth will do the same for the marine sector, except that it will be even bigger. This strategy is about realising the potential of our marine, Ireland’s largest natural resource – by a country mile,” he declared.
Acknowledging “the considerable frustrations” that had built up in certain sectors of the marine industry past decade, Minister Coveney predicted the new strategy would go a long way towards clearing some of the legal bottlenecks that had stymied development and expansion.
“Task Forces of talented individuals, driven people, passionate about the potential of the marine, including civil servants, academics and policy makers – all with a wide range of complimentary skills – will be put in place to drive this new strategy forward.
“These will be people who want to see things happen. I have no doubt they will be pushing me and the rest of the Marine Co-ordination Group for results, and I welcome that,” he concluded.
