Dominick Donnelly

2nd May 2009

The Green Party’s candidate for the Carrigaline electoral area of Cork County Council and for Passage West Town Council, Cllr. Dominick Donnelly, has welcomed the announcement by the Minister of State with special responsibility for forestry, fisheries and the marine, Tony Killeen, that the Government has set up a high-level Inter-Departmental Marine Co-ordinating Group.

“As a public representative alongside the second largest natural harbour in the world, Cork Harbour, I welcome this initiative from the Government. It shows that the Government are taking maritime matters seriously. As an island nation, we have not always given maritime matters the attention we should have, but the sea is one of our greatest assets, and we are completely dependent on shipping for a huge proportion of our international trade,” Cllr. Donnelly said.

“With the twin problems of climate change and peak oil signalling the inevitable demise of air travel over the next couple of decades, we will once again have to look more to the sea for most, if not all, of our international trade and travel. Also much or our energy will be coming from the sea in the near future, with the technology for both wave and tidal power developing apace, as well as off-shore wind power. In Cork Harbour we have the prospect of the Marine and Energy Research Cluster (MERC) developing in Ringaskiddy, alongside the National Maritime College of Ireland, as well as the resumption of a ferry service between Cork and Swansea during the summer (Fastnet Line). Maritime matters will be even more central to our economic wellbeing in the future, and it is important that the Government take maritime issues seriously now to plan for that future,” Cllr. Donnelly concluded.