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Displaying items by tag: development

Inland Fisheries Ireland has announced a new funding call for 2019 with three funding schemes now open to angling clubs and community groups.

The funding has been made available for fisheries conservation projects and development projects nationwide through the National Strategy for Angling Development (NSAD).

Applications are invited from angling clubs, local development associations, tidy towns and others who may be looking to carry out projects.

The 2019 funding call consists of three schemes.

The NSAD Capital Grants Scheme 2019 (€136,000) is aimed specifically at capital improvement works with grants available to groups and individuals looking to improve angling access and infrastructure in their locality.

The Salmon and Sea Trout Rehabilitation, Conservation and Protection Fund focuses on the protection of both salmon and sea trout. It will fund rehabilitation, protection and conservation projects, all of which must focus on salmon or sea trout. This fund replaces the Salmon Conservation Fund and extends it to include both salmon and sea trout with project values starting from €2,000 for awareness projects. The upper limit of €15,000 has been removed.

The Midlands Fisheries Fund (€50,000) will focus on conservation and rehabilitation projects in the midland fisheries permit area. The fund has been created through contributions from the permit income received via the Midlands Fisheries Group permit area.

Sean Canney, Minister of State with responsibility for the inland fisheries sector, said: “Since the inception of the National Strategy for Angling Development, we have invested €3.4 million in fisheries development, protection and conservation projects across the country.

“Progress is being made in the delivery of projects which support vital fisheries conservation and rehabilitation and which enhance Ireland’s angling offering. The fisheries resource should be enjoyed by all and this funding call today once more will help bring angling to the broader community in a conservation focused manner.”

Suzanne Campion of IFI said it looks forward to working with community groups from application to delivery stage on their projects.

“We are already partnering with over a hundred clubs and associations in the delivery of fisheries projects. The commitment of these groups in making a valuable difference to their locality is inspiring.”

For more information about the 2019 funding call, to download an information booklet and to submit an Expression of Interest, visit www.fisheriesireland.ie/funding.

All applicants must apply through the Expression of Interest, which opens today (Tuesday 16 April), to progress to full application. Full applications may be submitted from Monday 20 May with the closing date for applications on Thursday 20 June.

IFI will be hosting information workshops over the coming weeks for those looking for further information or support with the application process:

  • Dublin — Citywest Hotel — Monday 29 April
  • Cavan — Cavan Crystal Hotel — Tuesday 30 April
  • Donegal — Harvey’s Point — Wednesday 1 May
  • Ballina — The Great National Hotel — Thursday 2 May
  • Galway — Maldron Hotel, Oranmore — Friday 3 May
  • Limerick — Maldron Hotel — Tuesday 7 May
  • Tralee — Ballygarry Hotel — Wednesday 8 May
  • Cork City — Rochestown Park Hotel — Thursday 9 May
  • Kilkenny — Ormonde Hotel — Friday 10 May
Published in Angling

#CorkHarbour - The Evening Echo reports that Penrose Dock is the latest office development project to be greenlit for Cork’s city centre docklands.

Located adjacent to the Horgan’s Quay project launched a year ago, the proposal by John Cleary Developments will see 250,000 sqft of office space on a nearly two-acre site on Penrose Quay — where a ‘tall ship hotel’ could be moored later this year.

A ‘townhall space’ plus a café and underground parking are included in the Penrose Dock plans, which also seek to retain the historic Penrose House building on the quayside.

The announcement comes shortly after Property Week highlighted Cork — and Dublin — as an as-yet-untapped opportunity for waterfront regeneration.

“Cork’s docklands have been described as the last great undeveloped urban landbank in Ireland,” writes Richard Hook in his analysis of a growing list of redevelopment plans in the city and wider Cork Harbour area.

Published in Cork Harbour
Tagged under

#DublinBay - New plans to redevelop Bulloch Harbour, Dalkey in south Dublin writes The Irish Times has been dismissed by local opponents as “in some respects worse” than an original design rejected by planners a year ago.

A public meeting took place on Tuesday night aimed at rallying opposition to the development (see previous report) which Bartra Capital Property Group is behind.

The company, founded by developer Richard Barrett, has revised its earlier plan and hopes to secure permission from Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council for a scheme that would include two apartments and three large houses. It would also provide a building workshop for “traditional timber boats”, a public square, a cafe, community changing facilities and new units for existing businesses, including boat rentals.

Despite the developer’s insistence it addressed issues arising from its previous application, opponents say they remain concerned about potential flooding, wave over-topping and a scale of build considered “a gross intrusion” to the existing area.

“Unfortunately, this new application is in some respects worse than the one refused by the council,” said the Bulloch Harbour Preservation Association (BHPA) which organised the meeting, attended by about 250 people.

Its members believe the new application “pays virtually no attention to the special character, heritage and history of this small working harbour”.

To read further on the history and heritage of the small south Dublin Bay harbour, click here.

Published in Dublin Bay

#Property - Horgan’s Quay in Cork is set for a transformation with new offices, apartments, a hotel and an open plaza beside the River Lee.

Plans were first mooted a year ago for development of the CIÉ lands in the heart of Cork city, as previously reported on Afloat.ie.

But the Irish Examiner confirms that planning permission was finally lodged this past week for the €160 million ‘HQ’ development over six acres adjacent to Kent Station.

The scheme will have 160 metres of frontage on Horgan’s Quay, opposite the Port of Cork site on Custom House Quay for which buyers were being sought earlier this year.

The Irish Examiner has more on the story HERE.

Published in Waterfront Property

#TeamRacing - Last weekend’s Student Yachting Worlds selection in Howth shows the health of team racing among the collegiate set, especially among those sailing for fun.

But team racing as a discipline is more than just an opportunity for lapsed or lower-skilled sailors to get their jollies on the water — it’s an untapped pool of potential club members with the itch to sail on a regular basis.

Indeed, the Irish Sailing Association says team racing “is an excellent format to promote more sailing” and notes that more and more clubs are procuring boats for precisely this purpose.

The short racing format and potential for regular intra- and inter-club meets also cultivates the elusive ‘fun factor’ that could keep younger sailors as active club members for years to come.

To this end, the ISA is holding a team racing development meeting at the National Yacht Club in Dun Laoghaire from 7pm on Wednesday 24 May to discuss the potential of building team racing within Ireland’s sailing clubs and help the concept ‘go viral’.

Interested clubs should contact [email protected] by Friday 12 May.

Published in Team Racing
Tagged under

#IrishMarinas - A long-awaited marina development in Schull Harbour may finally get under way if funding from three possible sources can be secured, according to the Southern Star.

Fáilte Ireland, the Coastal Infrastructure Capital Programme and EU funds have been identified as target sources to make up the majority of the €6 million budget for the project, which includes a new slipway and public promenade, that was first greenlit by planners a decade ago.

Cork County Council also told councillors at a recent meeting that €375,000 will be allocated to match €1.125m in public funding for necessary pier works.

Planning permission for the 200-plus-berth marina was due to run out this year, as previously reported on Afloat.ie, but it has now been extended till 2022 — though a foreshore lease must come before any work can begin.

The Southern Star has more on the story HERE.

Published in Irish Marinas
Tagged under

#DunLaoghaire - Close to 100 people attended a meeting last night (Thursday 27 October) in the Royal Marine Hotel organised by the Save Our Seafront (SOS) community group, writes our special correspondent.

SOS campaigns for the public interest in the foreshore of Dun Laoghaire and against what they believe to be the inappropriate developments proposed by the authorities with responsibility for the coastal aspects of the harbour and the borough.

An imminent decision by An Bord Pleanala on the Dun Laoghaire Harbour Company’s (DLHC) application to develop a major cruise liner terminal in the harbour was a significant factor in the discussion.

But the general sentiment was that no matter what the outcome, DLHC’s finances are widely believed to be in such a position that development would not be possible.

The alleged lack of fiscal responsibility by the DHLC was referred to repeatedly by the top table and from the floor.

Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown councillors were not spared criticism, either, as several participants noted Cllr Melisa Halpin was the only one of the 40 elected representatives in attendance.

The recent pronouncement in the Senate by Transport Minister Shane Ross that a transfer of the responsibilities of DLHC was imminent was linked by Richard Boyd Barrett TD to the delay in the planning decision, when he said: “After five years in the Dáil, I don't believe in coincidences anymore.”

The meeting encouraged participants to lobby their councillors to vote for a complete takeover of the DLHC by the council, rather than the ‘quango’ option whereby the DLHC would remain as an entity within the council structure.

All types of harbour users were present at the meeting, many of whom were sailors.

Speakers concurred that the future of the harbour lay in water sports and in the wider maritime heritage sector, partially supported by smaller commercial activity than that envisaged by the DLHC.

#Greystones - Following moves to complete clubhouses for Greystones Harbour users comes news that work is resuming on the delayed residential part of the €300 million marina development.

According to The Irish Times, the first of an expected 350-plus new homes will be offered for sale by April 2016 after new builders Bridgedale Homes were appointed to the waterfront development to complete the housing and landscaping aspects.

Commercial units will follow later in the new year – and in the meantime, the five clubs awaiting their new facilities have been handed €1 million for fitting out the buildings in time for spring.

The Irish Times has more on the story HERE.

Published in Greystones Harbour

#Greystones - Moves are being made to complete developments for five clubs in Greystones Harbour before year's end, as the Wicklow Times reports.

Developer Bridgedale JV recently informed Greystones Municipal District councillors that the €3.5 million facilities are nearing completion after ground was broken in January this year.

The news was welcomed by Cllr Derek Mitchell, who expected the new public square to be completed in June 2016, with a public park to follow in 2019.

This comes after a delay on the development in September over an issue with the transfer of land earmarked for the green space.

Published in Greystones Harbour

#GalwayPort - Business leaders have welcomed the news that the €126 million Galway Port extension project will be proceed under the IROPI section of the EU Habitats Directive.

According to the Galway Independent, the decision by An Bord Pleanála to proceed under IROPI – or Imperative Reasons of Overriding Public Interest – is a first for Ireland.

Progress will involve establishing replacement habitats for those that would be adversely affected by the port extension. As previously reported on Afloat.ie, it was determined that a number of reef, mud and sand habitats would be destroyed by the 24 hectares of land reclamation required.

But there's better news for those with environmental concerns, as planners have determined that two nearby Natura sites – the Inner Galway Bay Special Protection Are and the Lough Corrib Special Area of Conservation – will see no impact, while priority habitats at Lough Atalia and Renmore Loughs will not be "negatively affected".

The board has also recommended "tight co-operation" between the Galway Harbour Company and local authorities to ensure conservation is made top priority throughout the project.

The Galway Independent has more on the story HERE.

Published in Galway Harbour
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The Irish Coast Guard

The Irish Coast Guard is Ireland's fourth 'Blue Light' service (along with An Garda Síochána, the Ambulance Service and the Fire Service). It provides a nationwide maritime emergency organisation as well as a variety of services to shipping and other government agencies.

The purpose of the Irish Coast Guard is to promote safety and security standards, and by doing so, prevent as far as possible, the loss of life at sea, and on inland waters, mountains and caves, and to provide effective emergency response services and to safeguard the quality of the marine environment.

The Irish Coast Guard has responsibility for Ireland's system of marine communications, surveillance and emergency management in Ireland's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and certain inland waterways.

It is responsible for the response to, and co-ordination of, maritime accidents which require search and rescue and counter-pollution and ship casualty operations. It also has responsibility for vessel traffic monitoring.

Operations in respect of maritime security, illegal drug trafficking, illegal migration and fisheries enforcement are co-ordinated by other bodies within the Irish Government.

On average, each year, the Irish Coast Guard is expected to:

  • handle 3,000 marine emergencies
  • assist 4,500 people and save about 200 lives
  • task Coast Guard helicopters on missions

The Coast Guard has been around in some form in Ireland since 1908.

Coast Guard helicopters

The Irish Coast Guard has contracted five medium-lift Sikorsky Search and Rescue helicopters deployed at bases in Dublin, Waterford, Shannon and Sligo.

The helicopters are designated wheels up from initial notification in 15 minutes during daylight hours and 45 minutes at night. One aircraft is fitted and its crew trained for under slung cargo operations up to 3000kgs and is available on short notice based at Waterford.

These aircraft respond to emergencies at sea, inland waterways, offshore islands and mountains of Ireland (32 counties).

They can also be used for assistance in flooding, major inland emergencies, intra-hospital transfers, pollution, and aerial surveillance during daylight hours, lifting and passenger operations and other operations as authorised by the Coast Guard within appropriate regulations.

Irish Coastguard FAQs

The Irish Coast Guard provides nationwide maritime emergency response, while also promoting safety and security standards. It aims to prevent the loss of life at sea, on inland waters, on mountains and in caves; and to safeguard the quality of the marine environment.

The main role of the Irish Coast Guard is to rescue people from danger at sea or on land, to organise immediate medical transport and to assist boats and ships within the country's jurisdiction. It has three marine rescue centres in Dublin, Malin Head, Co Donegal, and Valentia Island, Co Kerry. The Dublin National Maritime Operations centre provides marine search and rescue responses and coordinates the response to marine casualty incidents with the Irish exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

Yes, effectively, it is the fourth "blue light" service. The Marine Rescue Sub-Centre (MRSC) Valentia is the contact point for the coastal area between Ballycotton, Co Cork and Clifden, Co Galway. At the same time, the MRSC Malin Head covers the area between Clifden and Lough Foyle. Marine Rescue Co-ordination Centre (MRCC) Dublin covers Carlingford Lough, Co Louth to Ballycotton, Co Cork. Each MRCC/MRSC also broadcasts maritime safety information on VHF and MF radio, including navigational and gale warnings, shipping forecasts, local inshore forecasts, strong wind warnings and small craft warnings.

The Irish Coast Guard handles about 3,000 marine emergencies annually, and assists 4,500 people - saving an estimated 200 lives, according to the Department of Transport. In 2016, Irish Coast Guard helicopters completed 1,000 missions in a single year for the first time.

Yes, Irish Coast Guard helicopters evacuate medical patients from offshore islands to hospital on average about 100 times a year. In September 2017, the Department of Health announced that search and rescue pilots who work 24-hour duties would not be expected to perform any inter-hospital patient transfers. The Air Corps flies the Emergency Aeromedical Service, established in 2012 and using an AW139 twin-engine helicopter. Known by its call sign "Air Corps 112", it airlifted its 3,000th patient in autumn 2020.

The Irish Coast Guard works closely with the British Maritime and Coastguard Agency, which is responsible for the Northern Irish coast.

The Irish Coast Guard is a State-funded service, with both paid management personnel and volunteers, and is under the auspices of the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport. It is allocated approximately 74 million euro annually in funding, some 85 per cent of which pays for a helicopter contract that costs 60 million euro annually. The overall funding figure is "variable", an Oireachtas committee was told in 2019. Other significant expenditure items include volunteer training exercises, equipment, maintenance, renewal, and information technology.

The Irish Coast Guard has four search and rescue helicopter bases at Dublin, Waterford, Shannon and Sligo, run on a contract worth 50 million euro annually with an additional 10 million euro in costs by CHC Ireland. It provides five medium-lift Sikorsky S-92 helicopters and trained crew. The 44 Irish Coast Guard coastal units with 1,000 volunteers are classed as onshore search units, with 23 of the 44 units having rigid inflatable boats (RIBs) and 17 units having cliff rescue capability. The Irish Coast Guard has 60 buildings in total around the coast, and units have search vehicles fitted with blue lights, all-terrain vehicles or quads, first aid equipment, generators and area lighting, search equipment, marine radios, pyrotechnics and appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE). The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) and Community Rescue Boats Ireland also provide lifeboats and crews to assist in search and rescue. The Irish Coast Guard works closely with the Garda Siochána, National Ambulance Service, Naval Service and Air Corps, Civil Defence, while fishing vessels, ships and other craft at sea offer assistance in search operations.

The helicopters are designated as airborne from initial notification in 15 minutes during daylight hours, and 45 minutes at night. The aircraft respond to emergencies at sea, on inland waterways, offshore islands and mountains and cover the 32 counties. They can also assist in flooding, major inland emergencies, intra-hospital transfers, pollution, and can transport offshore firefighters and ambulance teams. The Irish Coast Guard volunteers units are expected to achieve a 90 per cent response time of departing from the station house in ten minutes from notification during daylight and 20 minutes at night. They are also expected to achieve a 90 per cent response time to the scene of the incident in less than 60 minutes from notification by day and 75 minutes at night, subject to geographical limitations.

Units are managed by an officer-in-charge (three stripes on the uniform) and a deputy officer in charge (two stripes). Each team is trained in search skills, first aid, setting up helicopter landing sites and a range of maritime skills, while certain units are also trained in cliff rescue.

Volunteers receive an allowance for time spent on exercises and call-outs. What is the difference between the Irish Coast Guard and the RNLI? The RNLI is a registered charity which has been saving lives at sea since 1824, and runs a 24/7 volunteer lifeboat service around the British and Irish coasts. It is a declared asset of the British Maritime and Coast Guard Agency and the Irish Coast Guard. Community Rescue Boats Ireland is a community rescue network of volunteers under the auspices of Water Safety Ireland.

No, it does not charge for rescue and nor do the RNLI or Community Rescue Boats Ireland.

The marine rescue centres maintain 19 VHF voice and DSC radio sites around the Irish coastline and a digital paging system. There are two VHF repeater test sites, four MF radio sites and two NAVTEX transmitter sites. Does Ireland have a national search and rescue plan? The first national search and rescue plan was published in July, 2019. It establishes the national framework for the overall development, deployment and improvement of search and rescue services within the Irish Search and Rescue Region and to meet domestic and international commitments. The purpose of the national search and rescue plan is to promote a planned and nationally coordinated search and rescue response to persons in distress at sea, in the air or on land.

Yes, the Irish Coast Guard is responsible for responding to spills of oil and other hazardous substances with the Irish pollution responsibility zone, along with providing an effective response to marine casualties and monitoring or intervening in marine salvage operations. It provides and maintains a 24-hour marine pollution notification at the three marine rescue centres. It coordinates exercises and tests of national and local pollution response plans.

The first Irish Coast Guard volunteer to die on duty was Caitriona Lucas, a highly trained member of the Doolin Coast Guard unit, while assisting in a search for a missing man by the Kilkee unit in September 2016. Six months later, four Irish Coast Guard helicopter crew – Dara Fitzpatrick, Mark Duffy, Paul Ormsby and Ciarán Smith -died when their Sikorsky S-92 struck Blackrock island off the Mayo coast on March 14, 2017. The Dublin-based Rescue 116 crew were providing "top cover" or communications for a medical emergency off the west coast and had been approaching Blacksod to refuel. Up until the five fatalities, the Irish Coast Guard recorded that more than a million "man hours" had been spent on more than 30,000 rescue missions since 1991.

Several investigations were initiated into each incident. The Marine Casualty Investigation Board was critical of the Irish Coast Guard in its final report into the death of Caitriona Lucas, while a separate Health and Safety Authority investigation has been completed, but not published. The Air Accident Investigation Unit final report into the Rescue 116 helicopter crash has not yet been published.

The Irish Coast Guard in its present form dates back to 1991, when the Irish Marine Emergency Service was formed after a campaign initiated by Dr Joan McGinley to improve air/sea rescue services on the west Irish coast. Before Irish independence, the British Admiralty was responsible for a Coast Guard (formerly the Water Guard or Preventative Boat Service) dating back to 1809. The West Coast Search and Rescue Action Committee was initiated with a public meeting in Killybegs, Co Donegal, in 1988 and the group was so effective that a Government report was commissioned, which recommended setting up a new division of the Department of the Marine to run the Marine Rescue Co-Ordination Centre (MRCC), then based at Shannon, along with the existing coast radio service, and coast and cliff rescue. A medium-range helicopter base was established at Shannon within two years. Initially, the base was served by the Air Corps.

The first director of what was then IMES was Capt Liam Kirwan, who had spent 20 years at sea and latterly worked with the Marine Survey Office. Capt Kirwan transformed a poorly funded voluntary coast and cliff rescue service into a trained network of cliff and sea rescue units – largely voluntary, but with paid management. The MRCC was relocated from Shannon to an IMES headquarters at the then Department of the Marine (now Department of Transport) in Leeson Lane, Dublin. The coast radio stations at Valentia, Co Kerry, and Malin Head, Co Donegal, became marine rescue-sub-centres.

The current director is Chris Reynolds, who has been in place since August 2007 and was formerly with the Naval Service. He has been seconded to the head of mission with the EUCAP Somalia - which has a mandate to enhance Somalia's maritime civilian law enforcement capacity – since January 2019.

  • Achill, Co. Mayo
  • Ardmore, Co. Waterford
  • Arklow, Co. Wicklow
  • Ballybunion, Co. Kerry
  • Ballycotton, Co. Cork
  • Ballyglass, Co. Mayo
  • Bonmahon, Co. Waterford
  • Bunbeg, Co. Donegal
  • Carnsore, Co. Wexford
  • Castlefreake, Co. Cork
  • Castletownbere, Co. Cork
  • Cleggan, Co. Galway
  • Clogherhead, Co. Louth
  • Costelloe Bay, Co. Galway
  • Courtown, Co. Wexford
  • Crosshaven, Co. Cork
  • Curracloe, Co. Wexford
  • Dingle, Co. Kerry
  • Doolin, Co. Clare
  • Drogheda, Co. Louth
  • Dun Laoghaire, Co. Dublin
  • Dunmore East, Co. Waterford
  • Fethard, Co. Wexford
  • Glandore, Co. Cork
  • Glenderry, Co. Kerry
  • Goleen, Co. Cork
  • Greencastle, Co. Donegal
  • Greenore, Co. Louth
  • Greystones, Co. Wicklow
  • Guileen, Co. Cork
  • Howth, Co. Dublin
  • Kilkee, Co. Clare
  • Killala, Co. Mayo
  • Killybegs, Co. Donegal
  • Kilmore Quay, Co. Wexford
  • Knightstown, Co. Kerry
  • Mulroy, Co. Donegal
  • North Aran, Co. Galway
  • Old Head Of Kinsale, Co. Cork
  • Oysterhaven, Co. Cork
  • Rosslare, Co. Wexford
  • Seven Heads, Co. Cork
  • Skerries, Co. Dublin Summercove, Co. Cork
  • Toe Head, Co. Cork
  • Tory Island, Co. Donegal
  • Tramore, Co. Waterford
  • Waterville, Co. Kerry
  • Westport, Co. Mayo
  • Wicklow
  • Youghal, Co. Cork

Sources: Department of Transport © Afloat 2020