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Displaying items by tag: Minster for Transport

17th November 2014

Dublin Port Company's First Sustainability Report Launched by Transport Minister

Dublin Port Company's First Sustainability Report Launched by Transport Minister

#SustainableReport - Dublin Port Company's first Sustainability Report was launched today by Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Paschal Donohoe, TD.

The new report, to be published annually, provides an account of Dublin Port Company's sustainable development responsibilities, challenges and achievements from the previous year with regard to economic, environmental and social considerations.

The report documents the integrated approach that Dublin Port Company takes to facilitating the movement of passengers and goods through Ireland's largest, busiest port - servicing an economic need – balanced with the needs of the port's natural and built environment, and local communities it operates alongside.

At the launch of the new report, attended by customers and staff, local community groups, individuals, and elected representatives, Dublin Port Company and the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) also signed a joint energy efficiency agreement. As a member of the Public Sector Energy Partnership Programme, the agreement means that Dublin Port Company and SEAI will work in partnership to achieve a target of 33% energy efficiency savings and improvements by 2020.

Energy, Waste & Water Highlights 2013:

200,000 kWh of energy saved using a building management system installed at Port Centre in 2012; enough energy to power approximately 40 Irish homes for a year*

Almost 20,000 kWh generated from Dublin Port's first wind turbine installed in 2012, enough to power 6.2 houses per day

96% of waste recycled in 2013, compared to 40% in 2009

200,000m3 water consumed in 2013, compared to 400,000m3 in 2009

Metered water levels reduced to 26,553 m3 in 2013, compared to 260,000 m3 in 2009

95% reduction in water consumption achieved over four years by 2013 through elimination of leakages on the port's 260 hectare estate

Community Highlights 2013

Education scholarships were awarded to 34 local students in 2013, bringing to over 100 the number of people Dublin Port Company currently supports in higher education. Since the company's scholarship programme was founded in 2001, over 600 students have received financial support to pursue third level education courses.

Dublin Port Company also continued its support for Ringsend & District Response to Drugs (RDRD). The project works with families in challenging circumstances such as drug addiction, domestic violence, poverty and alcoholism. In 2013, the project provided support services to 228 families in the local community, a 28% increase on the 178 families it supported the previous year.

Biodiversity Highlights 2013

In 2013 Dublin Port Company embarked on a three-year Dublin Bay Birds project with BirdWatch Ireland, a new programme of waterbird monitoring and research. The project examines in greater detail how birds use Dublin Bay for feeding and roosting, while investigating their movements between Dublin Bay and neighbouring wetlands.

The 2013 highlights include the individual marking of 118 Oystercatchers with coded rings, bi-monthly waterbird counts and additional surveys, as well as the construction of a new temporary nesting site in the Tolka Estuary since colonised by the terns. Dublin Bay is one of Ireland's most important wetlands for migratory wintering waterbirds and holds the fourth largest breeding tern colony in Ireland.

Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Paschal Donohoe, TD, said: "I am very pleased to launch Dublin Port Company's first Sustainability Report, given Dublin Port's status as a port of national significance and its contribution to the economic, environmental and social development of the country and our capital city. I welcome today's launch event and the publication of this report as a milestone in assisting individuals and organisations to further understand Dublin Port's significant role in this regard, and its future potential. It is important that ports take a holistic approach to their operations, including sustainable business practices, and I commend Dublin Port on its clear progress in this regard."

Eamonn O'Reilly, Chief Executive, Dublin Port Company, said: "Dublin Port Company is pleased to publish our first Sustainability Report. It provides an accessible account of the economic, environmental and social considerations that drive our approach to doing business more sustainably today, while shaping Dublin Port's future. We are committed to measuring and reporting on our activities as Dublin Port strives to facilitate economic growth, protect our environment and enrich the lives of local communities. The publication of a new Sustainability Report is further testament to Dublin Port Company's commitment."

Lucy McCaffrey, Chairperson, Dublin Port Company, said: "Dublin Port Company is dedicated to operating a sustainable port that is good for business, the city of Dublin and its citizens. It is imperative that we give an account of our stewardship and Dublin Port's journey to greater sustainability that will facilitate not only a thriving economy, but also a vibrant sea- and cityscape for this generation, and future generations to come. On behalf of Dublin Port Company, I thank Minister, Paschal Donohoe, TD for officially launching our first Sustainability Report today."

To read the report in full, download the report ny clicking HERE.

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Dublin Bay

Dublin Bay on the east coast of Ireland stretches over seven kilometres, from Howth Head on its northern tip to Dalkey Island in the south. It's a place most Dubliners simply take for granted, and one of the capital's least visited places. But there's more going on out there than you'd imagine.

The biggest boating centre is at Dun Laoghaire Harbour on the Bay's south shore that is home to over 1,500 pleasure craft, four waterfront yacht clubs and Ireland's largest marina.

The bay is rather shallow with many sandbanks and rocky outcrops, and was notorious in the past for shipwrecks, especially when the wind was from the east. Until modern times, many ships and their passengers were lost along the treacherous coastline from Howth to Dun Laoghaire, less than a kilometre from shore.

The Bay is a C-shaped inlet of the Irish Sea and is about 10 kilometres wide along its north-south base, and 7 km in length to its apex at the centre of the city of Dublin; stretching from Howth Head in the north to Dalkey Point in the south. North Bull Island is situated in the northwest part of the bay, where one of two major inshore sandbanks lie, and features a 5 km long sandy beach, Dollymount Strand, fronting an internationally recognised wildfowl reserve. Many of the rivers of Dublin reach the Irish Sea at Dublin Bay: the River Liffey, with the River Dodder flow received less than 1 km inland, River Tolka, and various smaller rivers and streams.

Dublin Bay FAQs

There are approximately ten beaches and bathing spots around Dublin Bay: Dollymount Strand; Forty Foot Bathing Place; Half Moon bathing spot; Merrion Strand; Bull Wall; Sandycove Beach; Sandymount Strand; Seapoint; Shelley Banks; Sutton, Burrow Beach

There are slipways on the north side of Dublin Bay at Clontarf, Sutton and on the southside at Dun Laoghaire Harbour, and in Dalkey at Coliemore and Bulloch Harbours.

Dublin Bay is administered by a number of Government Departments, three local authorities and several statutory agencies. Dublin Port Company is in charge of navigation on the Bay.

Dublin Bay is approximately 70 sq kilometres or 7,000 hectares. The Bay is about 10 kilometres wide along its north-south base, and seven km in length east-west to its peak at the centre of the city of Dublin; stretching from Howth Head in the north to Dalkey Point in the south.

Dun Laoghaire Harbour on the southside of the Bay has an East and West Pier, each one kilometre long; this is one of the largest human-made harbours in the world. There also piers or walls at the entrance to the River Liffey at Dublin city known as the Great North and South Walls. Other harbours on the Bay include Bulloch Harbour and Coliemore Harbours both at Dalkey.

There are two marinas on Dublin Bay. Ireland's largest marina with over 800 berths is on the southern shore at Dun Laoghaire Harbour. The other is at Poolbeg Yacht and Boat Club on the River Liffey close to Dublin City.

Car and passenger Ferries operate from Dublin Port to the UK, Isle of Man and France. A passenger ferry operates from Dun Laoghaire Harbour to Howth as well as providing tourist voyages around the bay.

Dublin Bay has two Islands. Bull Island at Clontarf and Dalkey Island on the southern shore of the Bay.

The River Liffey flows through Dublin city and into the Bay. Its tributaries include the River Dodder, the River Poddle and the River Camac.

Dollymount, Burrow and Seapoint beaches

Approximately 1,500 boats from small dinghies to motorboats to ocean-going yachts. The vast majority, over 1,000, are moored at Dun Laoghaire Harbour which is Ireland's boating capital.

In 1981, UNESCO recognised the importance of Dublin Bay by designating North Bull Island as a Biosphere because of its rare and internationally important habitats and species of wildlife. To support sustainable development, UNESCO’s concept of a Biosphere has evolved to include not just areas of ecological value but also the areas around them and the communities that live and work within these areas. There have since been additional international and national designations, covering much of Dublin Bay, to ensure the protection of its water quality and biodiversity. To fulfil these broader management aims for the ecosystem, the Biosphere was expanded in 2015. The Biosphere now covers Dublin Bay, reflecting its significant environmental, economic, cultural and tourism importance, and extends to over 300km² to include the bay, the shore and nearby residential areas.

On the Southside at Dun Laoghaire, there is the National Yacht Club, Royal St. George Yacht Club, Royal Irish Yacht Club and Dun Laoghaire Motor Yacht Club as well as Dublin Bay Sailing Club. In the city centre, there is Poolbeg Yacht and Boat Club. On the Northside of Dublin, there is Clontarf Yacht and Boat Club and Sutton Dinghy Club. While not on Dublin Bay, Howth Yacht Club is the major north Dublin Sailing centre.

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