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In a confidential discussion document prepared by the Irish Ports Association (IPA) cite that the Exchequer should provide money for infrastructure development at Ireland's commercial ports.

The draft document, circulated amongst port CEOs last week, heavily criticises Government policy on Irish ports as both "misguided" and "naive".

The document, seen by the Sunday Independent, highlights what it describes as an "excessive focus on EU grants" in national ports policy introduced in 2013 by then-Minister for Transport Leo Varadkar that continued a ban on the use of Exchequer funding for major infrastructure to cope with capacity constraints at major ports like Dublin and Rosslare.

"This [the ban on State funding] will have to change if Irish ports are to provide the capacity that will be needed in the future," it states, adding that port infrastructure projects do not make commercial sense but do make economic sense.

More on this Independent.ie reports 

Published in Irish Ports
Tagged under

This year's Irish Ports Conference is to be hosted by Rosslare Europort on behalf of the Irish Port Association (IPA) and is to take place in Wexford on 30th September.

 
In recent years the conference has established itself as the definitive gathering for the Irish ports industry and includes both the unitised and bulk-sector interests.

The event is the only one of its kind in Ireland this year where senior representatives from short-sea users, carriers, ports, logistics providers and the whole range of service providers meet to debate the topical issues of the day.

In addition the full-day conference provides those to network and explore further business opportunities and will culminate with the IPA's conference banquet.

The south-eastern ferry-port is to host delegates in the Ferrycarrig Hotel, just outside Wexford. For further information on booking and a (PDF) programme of the day visit the Rosslare Europort website by clicking HERE

Published in Rosslare Europort

Marine Wildlife Around Ireland One of the greatest memories of any day spent boating around the Irish coast is an encounter with marine wildlife.  It's a thrill for young and old to witness seabirds, seals, dolphins and whales right there in their own habitat. As boaters fortunate enough to have experienced it will testify even spotting a distant dorsal fin can be the highlight of any day afloat.  Was that a porpoise? Was it a whale? No matter how brief the glimpse it's a privilege to share the seas with Irish marine wildlife.

Thanks to the location of our beautiful little island, perched in the North Atlantic Ocean there appears to be no shortage of marine life to observe.

From whales to dolphins, seals, sharks and other ocean animals this page documents the most interesting accounts of marine wildlife around our shores. We're keen to receive your observations, your photos, links and youtube clips.

Boaters have a unique perspective and all those who go afloat, from inshore kayaking to offshore yacht racing that what they encounter can be of real value to specialist organisations such as the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group (IWDG) who compile a list of sightings and strandings. The IWDG knowledge base has increased over the past 21 years thanks in part at least to the observations of sailors, anglers, kayakers and boaters.

Thanks to the IWDG work we now know we share the seas with dozens of species who also call Ireland home. Here's the current list: Atlantic white-sided dolphin, beluga whale, blue whale, bottlenose dolphin, common dolphin, Cuvier's beaked whale, false killer whale, fin whale, Gervais' beaked whale, harbour porpoise, humpback whale, killer whale, minke whale, northern bottlenose whale, northern right whale, pilot whale, pygmy sperm whale, Risso's dolphin, sei whale, Sowerby's beaked whale, sperm whale, striped dolphin, True's beaked whale and white-beaked dolphin.

But as impressive as the species list is the IWDG believe there are still gaps in our knowledge. Next time you are out on the ocean waves keep a sharp look out!