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Displaying items by tag: Imports

The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has said imports from Britain fell by almost two thirds in January after the UK left the European Union.

The latest trade statistics from the CSO reveal an immediate Brexit impact with the value of imports falling by 65 per cent - from €1.4 billion to €497 million - in January compared to the same month last year.

The fall-off was driven by declines in imports of food and live animals (-75 per cent) and mineral fuels (-71 per cent).

The CSO said a combination of factors contributed to the large reduction in imports from the Britain in January, including the challenges of complying with customs requirements.

Other factors included the stockpiling of goods in the final quarter of 2020 in preparation for Brexit, the substitution with goods from other countries, and a reduction in trade volumes due to the impact of Covid-19.

For more including on exports, reports The Irish Times here.

Published in Ports & Shipping

A plan to store fracked gas in Cork could be illegal a Cork TD has claimed.

It comes as more than 2,000 signatures writes EchoLive.ie, have been gathered on an online petition opposing the potential Cork Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) terminal.

If it goes ahead, fracked gas from the United States would be imported into Cork harbour.

In 2017 a Memorandum of Understanding was signed by the Port of Cork with US company NextDecade as Afloat previously reported..

It could see an LNG terminal built, using a floating storage and regasification unit.

An online petition was created by the group ‘Not Here Not Anywhere’ who are a grassroots campaign against drilling for oil and gas off the Irish coasts and the development of any new fossil fuel infrastructure in Ireland.

For more click here 

Published in Cork Harbour

#NewsUpdate - A delivery of the first imported animal feed in response to the deepening - and now nationwide - fodder crisis has arrived in Rosslare Harbour.

The feed reports RTE News, which has been imported from Britain, will then be distributed by Dairygold Co-Op to ten locations around Munster.

Further significant imports are scheduled for the coming days, with Glanbia and Lakeland Dairies saying that they have also sourced animal feed abroad for their members.

The Dairygold Co-Op executives who sourced and organised the first 2,500 tonnes of animal feed in response to the deepening weather-related shortage are attempting to locate even more supplies to distribute to their farmer members.

Seamus O'Mahoney, Head of Sales at Dairygold Argi Business, said around 3,500 bales are expected to arrive at Rosslare Port over the next two to three days.

Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, he said imports from the UK were inevitable given the current situation facing farmers.

"We have been seeing over the last few months that farmers have been trying to stretch existing fodder and we have had a very long winter, two storms, a late spring. Farmers didn’t have a chance to put out fertiliser and all of those factors didn’t click," he said.

Click HERE for more on the farming crisis.

Published in News Update

Irish Sailing Club of the Year Award

This unique and informal competition was inaugurated in 1979, with Mitsubishi Motors becoming main sponsors in 1986. The purpose of the award is to highlight and honour the voluntary effort which goes into creating and maintaining the unrivalled success of Ireland's yacht and sailing clubs. 

In making their assessment, the adjudicators take many factors into consideration. In addition to the obvious one of sailing success at local, national and international level, considerable attention is also paid to the satisfaction which members in every branch of sailing and boating feel with the way their club is run, and how effectively it meets their specific needs, while also encouraging sailing development and training.

The successful staging of events, whether local, national or international, is also a factor in making the assessment, and the adjudicators place particular emphasis on the level of effective voluntary input which the membership is ready and willing to give in support of their club's activities.

The importance of a dynamic and fruitful interaction with the local community is emphasised, and also with the relevant governmental and sporting bodies, both at local and national level. The adjudicators expect to find a genuine sense of continuity in club life and administration. Thus although the award is held in a specific year in celebration of achievements in the previous year, it is intended that it should reflect an ongoing story of success and well-planned programmes for future implementation. 

Over the years, the adjudication system has been continually refined in order to be able to make realistic comparisons between clubs of varying types and size. With the competition's expansion to include class associations and specialist national watersports bodies, the "Club of the Year" competition continues to keep pace with developing trends, while at the same time reflecting the fact that Ireland's leading sailing clubs are themselves national and global pace-setters

Irish Sailing Club of the Year Award FAQs

The purpose of the award is to highlight and honour the voluntary effort which goes into creating and maintaining the unrivalled success of Ireland's yacht and sailing clubs.

A ship's wheel engraved with the names of all the past winners.

The Sailing Club of the Year competition began in 1979.

PR consultant Sean O’Shea (a member of Clontarf Y & BC) had the idea of a trophy which would somehow honour the ordinary sailing club members, volunteers and sailing participants, who may not have personally won prizes, to feel a sense of identity and reward and special pride in their club. Initially some sort of direct inter-club contest was envisaged, but sailing journalist W M Nixon suggested that a way could be found for the comparative evaluation of the achievements and quality of clubs despite their significant differences in size and style.

The award recognises local, national & international sailing success by the winning club's members in both racing and cruising, the completion of a varied and useful sailing and social programme at the club, the fulfilling by the club of its significant and socially-aware role in the community, and the evidence of a genuine feeling among all members that the club meets their individual needs afloat and ashore.

The first club of the Year winner in 1979 was Wicklow Sailing Club.

Royal Cork Yacht Club has won the award most, seven times in all in 1987, 1992, 1997, 2000, 2006, 2015 & 2020.

The National YC has won six times, in 1981, 1985, 1993, 1996, 2012 & 2018.

Howth Yacht Club has won five times, in 1982, 1986, 1995, 2009 & 2019

Ireland is loosely divided into regions with the obviously high-achieving clubs from each area recommended through an informal nationwide panel of local sailors going into a long-list, which is then whittled down to a short-list of between three and eight clubs.

The final short-list is evaluated by an anonymous team based on experienced sailors, sailing journalists and sponsors’ representatives

From 1979 to 2020 the Sailing Club of the Year Award winners are:

  • 1979 Wicklow SC
  • 1980 Malahide YC
  • 1981 National YC
  • 1982 Howth YC
  • 1983 Royal St George YC
  • 1984 Dundalk SC
  • 1985 National YC (Sponsorship by Mitsubishi Motors began in 1985-86)
  • 1986 Howth YC
  • 1987 Royal Cork YC
  • 1988 Dublin University SC
  • 1989 Irish Cruising. Club
  • 1990 Glenans Irish SC
  • 1991 Galway Bay SC
  • 1992 Royal Cork YC
  • 1993 National YC & Cumann Badoiri Naomh Bhreannain (Dingle) (after 1993, year indicated is one in which trophy is held)
  • 1995 Howth Yacht Club
  • 1996 National Yacht Club
  • 1997 Royal Cork Yacht Club
  • 1998 Kinsale Yacht Club
  • 1999 Poolbeg Yacht & Boat Club
  • 2000 Royal Cork Yacht Club (in 2000, competition extended to include class associations and specialist organisations)
  • 2001 Howth Sailing Club Seventeen Footer Association
  • 2002 Galway Bay Sailing Club
  • 2003 Coiste an Asgard
  • 2004 Royal St George Yacht Club
  • 2005 Lough Derg Yacht Club
  • 2006 Royal Cork Yacht Club (Water Club of the Harbour of Cork)
  • 2007 Dublin Bay Sailing Club
  • 2008 Lough Ree YC & Shannon One Design Assoc.
  • 2009 Howth Yacht Club
  • 2010 Royal St George YC
  • 2011 Irish Cruiser Racing Association
  • 2012 National Yacht Club
  • 2013 Royal St George YC
  • 2014 Kinsale YC
  • 2015 Royal Cork Yacht Club
  • 2016 Royal Irish Yacht Club
  • 2017 Wicklow Sailing Club
  • 2018 National Yacht Club
  • 2019 Howth Yacht Club
  • 2020 Royal Cork Yacht Club

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