The Government is seeking a chair for a new seafood-offshore renewable energy working group.
Minister for Housing Darragh O’Brien has invited applications from “suitably qualified candidates”, with a deadline of March 25th for applying.
O’Brien’s department says it is “working in conjunction with colleagues from the Departments of Agriculture, Food and the Marine; and Environment, Climate and Communications respectively” to establish a working group within the context of the National Marine Planning Framework (NMPF).
Minister for Marine Charlie McConalogue had acknowledged delays in setting up the group when he addressed the recent offshore renewable energy conference on marine skills and qualifications, hosted by Simply Blue Energy at the National Maritime College of Ireland in Ringaskiddy, Cork Harbour.
The conference heard that the fishing industry and offshore renewable energy would be on a “collision course” unless action was taken to set up the stakeholder forum.
The new working group will “facilitate discussion on matters arising from the interaction of the seafood and offshore renewable energy industries, to promote and share best practice, and to encourage liaison with other sectors in the marine environment”, the Department of Housing says.
It says the chairperson will be responsible for “leadership of the working group and ensuring its effectiveness on all aspects of its role”.
It outlines the working group’s primary objectives as being :
- To enable and establish a framework for constructive engagement through regular scheduled and responsive communications between the seafood and offshore renewable energy sectors.
- To develop clear and defined Guidelines for interactions between the seafood and ORE industries with regard to ORE developments within the context of the NMPF.
It says that interested parties can submit their application to [email protected]
The deadline for receipt of applications is 4 pm on Friday, March 25th 2022.
More information on the background to the Seafood –ORE working group, the objectives of the group, and the role of the chairperson can be found here