EUROPEAN COMMISSIONER for research, innovation and science Máire Geoghegan-Quinn has forecast that a “smart” approach to the maritime sector will play a “vital role” in Ireland and Europe’s economic recovery.
Speaking at the Marine Institute in Galway yesterday, Ms Geoghegan-Quinn said there was “enormous, but under-developed” potential in the sector, and Ireland’s sea acreage made it “the third largest country in Europe”.
Research work at the Marine Institute was already focusing on Europe’s “five grand challenges”, including climate change and food and energy security, which the commissioner said she had identified as priorities in her new post.
Ireland’s underwater land mass placed Ireland in “pole position” to be at the “cutting edge of marine innovation”, and every euro invested in marine discovery yielded four euro.
The commissioner stressed that continued investment in research and development was “never more important” than in a time of economic difficulty, and she cited Finland as an example of a state which survived such a crisis by increasing its support for this area.
Ms Geoghegan-Quinn paid particular tribute to the work carried out at European level by Minister of State for Fisheries Tony Killeen, who had done a “phenomenal job” in representing the marine sector without having a seat at the Cabinet.
She said it was entirely a “matter for the Taoiseach” as to whether marine should be restored to a full Cabinet posting, but “tomorrow [Tuesday] would tell a different story” in terms of the impending Cabinet reshuffle.
Ms Geoghegan-Quinn, who was keynote speaker at a workshop on ocean technology, was presented yesterday with the Marine Institute’s draft strategy on this area, entitled Smartocean, which aims to increase co-operation between information technology and marine resources interests to tap into global markets.