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Displaying items by tag: Brexit Plan

RTE reports of a group representing the fishing industry which has said the Brexit Action Plan published by the Government fails to deal with a range of issues immediately facing the sector.

The plan launched yesterday follows Britain's publication of draft legislation on how it wants to manage trade within its borders after Brexit.

The Killybegs Fishermen's Organisation has said State aid for fishermen will be imperative.

Chief Executive of the organisation Seán O'Donoghue said the plan "contains little new information and simply underlines the urgent need to secure a deal with the UK on fisheries".

Mr O'Donoghue said ensuring fishermen retain access to UK waters, as well as retaining the link with trade, "remains the number one priority".

More here on the challenges facing the sector.

Published in Fishing

Irish Government’s new Brexit plan will explicitly warn businesses that anyone trading with or moving goods through the UK will face changes, no matter the outcome of EU negotiations with Britain.

The plan, writes The Irish Times, is scheduled to be launched this week, most likely on Wednesday, amid renewed fears at Government level over the risks to the economy from Brexit.

Firms are expected to face difficulty getting shipments through ports unless they have completed the correct customs procedures. Trying to export or import without doing so will be “like going to the airport without your passport”, a source said.

The Government is concerned about the prospect of a limited trade deal, or a crash-out Brexit, next January, as well as the prospect of firms being blindsided by the conclusion of the current transition period, at the end of this year.

The plan will also contain an update on registrations for an Economic Operators’ Registration and Identification (EORI) number, which is needed for firms doing business outside the EU. More than 67,000 firms have registered for their number, and these firms are responsible for some 96 per cent in terms of the value of export and 93 per cent of the value of imports.

Published in Ports & Shipping

The Irish Cruiser Racing Association (ICRA) Information

The creation of the Irish Cruiser Racing Association (ICRA) began in a very low key way in the autumn of 2002 with an exploratory meeting between Denis Kiely, Jim Donegan and Fintan Cairns in the Granville Hotel in Waterford, and the first conference was held in February 2003 in Kilkenny.

While numbers of cruiser-racers were large, their specific locations were widespread, but there was simply no denying the numerical strength and majority power of the Cork-Dublin axis. To get what was then a very novel concept up and running, this strength of numbers had to be acknowledged, and the first National Championship in 2003 reflected this, as it was staged in Howth.

ICRA was run by a dedicated group of volunteers each of whom brought their special talents to the organisation. Jim Donegan, the elder statesman, was so much more interested in the wellbeing of the new organisation than in personal advancement that he insisted on Fintan Cairns being the first Commodore, while the distinguished Cork sailor was more than content to be Vice Commodore.

ICRA National Championships

Initially, the highlight of the ICRA season was the National Championship, which is essentially self-limiting, as it is restricted to boats which have or would be eligible for an IRC Rating. Boats not actually rated but eligible were catered for by ICRA’s ace number-cruncher Denis Kiely, who took Ireland’s long-established native rating system ECHO to new heights, thereby providing for extra entries which brought fleet numbers at most annual national championships to comfortably above the hundred mark, particularly at the height of the boom years. 

ICRA Boat of the Year (Winners 2004-2019)