Noel Dempsey TD, the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources has launched a new National Geoscience Programme for Ireland.
The programme - a collaborative effort by the Geological Survey of Ireland (GSI) and the Royal Irish Academy (RIA) - provides for a total investment of some €43 million over seven years in the geoscience sector.
Speaking at the launch in the Academy, Minister Dempsey said - "This programme has been crafted to enhance many aspects of Irish life, including the sustainable management of our environment, the development of our natural resources and infrastructure and understanding and predicting natural hazards."
The Awards Scheme and the Geoscience Programme will both operate on an all-island basis. Speaking at the launch, President of the RIA, Dr. Jim Slevin said - "Geological parameters do not recognise political borders, so this strategy has been explicitly created in an inclusive 'All-Island' context."
Noting that 2008 has been designated by the UN as International Year of Planet Earth, Minister Dempsey urged the geoscience sector to avail of this opportunity to show its importance to the wider public.
At the launch, Minister Dempsey also announced the launch of a €10 million research initiative - 'The Griffith Geoscience Research Awards Scheme'. This award scheme - named to honour Richard Griffith, the celebrated geologist and engineer, who lived from 1784 to 1878 - will boost research in the geoscience area, targeting the vital pillars of energy, environment, marine and infrastructure.
The Griffith Awards follow on the successful Charles Parsons Energy Research awards (Click Here) launched in 2006 and the Marine Research Awards (Click Here) announced recently. The 3 Award schemes are based on the provision of 7-year research funding and 7-year Researcher contracts.
"This commitment to early stage researcher career development, demonstrates the importance with which I and my Department view the contribution of researchers. I am convinced that the 7-year funding mechanism - which is the first such funding approach across the EU - will be significant in attracting young International mobile researchers to Ireland."
A key Griffith award will be presented to a competent research group who will work with the GSI in digitalising and web enabling their data bases. "This will allow open access, without charge, to these data bases and so optimise the use of the data for productive purposes."
Another Griffith award will fund the development of an All-island Graduate school in Geoscience, where PhD students will have access to modules related to Energy, Environment, Marine, Transport and Infrastructural Development.
"The Programme announced today is a highly ambitious one that sets out a clear vision for how the geoscience sector will evolve over 2007-2013. By driving a strongly focused knowledge and research agenda, the Programme will improve our understanding of how our planet works and highlight the often unseen importance of geoscience in our daily lives" - concluded Minister Dempsey.
Geoscience-based industry contributes more than €2 billion each year to the Irish economy. This figure is comprised of mining operations, aggregates, plasterboards and other materials for the construction industry, gas production and various high-level consultancy services, mostly carried out by highly skilled graduates of Irish science universities.
Showing posts with label energy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label energy. Show all posts
Sunday, 25 February 2007
Saturday, 2 December 2006
Green Party on energy - Pre-budget
“It is imperative for a modern competitive economy to have reliable, secure and competitively priced energy available to it. Long-term actions and decisions regarding the energy sector must also be sustainable from an environmental perspective in order to provide safeguards for future generations.”
Towards 2016
Climate change has become one of the most pressing issues facing both Ireland and the international community. The Stern Report, commissioned by the British Government, has predicted that the cost of combating the effects of climate change are far outweighed by the costs of preventing it. Left unchecked, climate change will undoubtedly plunge the world into economic crisis. Currently, fossil fuels account for 90% of Ireland’s Total Primary Energy Supply (TPES). This year alone saw a rise of 34% in gas prices and nearly 20% in electricity price, placing Ireland amongst the top three most expensive countries for industrial consumers of electricity in Europe. It is projected that Irish energy will continue to grow at 2-3% annually until at least 2020, making it imperative that security and competitiveness of energy is urgently addressed.
While rising energy costs threaten microeconomic competitiveness, Ireland’s failure to meet its Kyoto obligations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions means that €2-4m will leave the Irish economy every week between 2008 and 2012.
In order to ensure, Security of Energy Supply, Environmental Sustainability and Economic Competitiveness, Ireland must develop secure, indigenous clean energy sources. There is significant potential across a wide range of renewable energy sources, which can be developed from a competitive cost base. In addition to providing a more secure and environmentally sustainable supply of energy, an Irish renewables energy industry could provide new markets for Irish farmers and, create tens of thousands of jobs.
The Green Party urges the government to:
1 Reduce the development costs of renewable energy projects, by allowing the individuals engaged to claim a deduction against their income for tax purposes for the costs of these projects.
2 Provide adequate feed-in fixed price support mechanisms for off-shore wind farms, wave tidal and biomass systems.
3 Move towards mandatory percentage requirement for use of biofuels.
4 Increase investment in sustainable energy development and ensure that the allocated EU funding in this area is properly invested.
5 Follow the Danish example in decision-making regarding energy planning, whereby long-term energy targets are agreed on a cross-party basis with mechanisms for mandatory resetting of policies to meet short targets.
Housing and the construction industry
The Green Party is calling for:
1 Incentives towards increasing the energy efficiency in newly-built and existing housing.
2 The institution of a grant for the insulation of all houses and building which receive a grade D or lower rating for energy efficiency.
3 Extra funding, in the form of capital grants, for the development of eco-friendly housing.
Transport energy
79% of oil used in transport goes into private cars and goods vehicles and only 3% into public transport. Despite the announced increase in spending on public transport infrastructure, it has remained at a much lower level than spending on road building.
1 The Government should prioritise investment in public transport over road building to provide Irish people with a proper public transport alternative.
2 Motor tax and VRT should be abolished on a phased basis, over a five year period. The revenue would be recouped by increasing excise duty on fuel, excluding biofuel. This would ensure that the environmental costs of driving, rather than ownership itself, is taxed.
The Green Party: 16/17 Suffol
Towards 2016
Climate change has become one of the most pressing issues facing both Ireland and the international community. The Stern Report, commissioned by the British Government, has predicted that the cost of combating the effects of climate change are far outweighed by the costs of preventing it. Left unchecked, climate change will undoubtedly plunge the world into economic crisis. Currently, fossil fuels account for 90% of Ireland’s Total Primary Energy Supply (TPES). This year alone saw a rise of 34% in gas prices and nearly 20% in electricity price, placing Ireland amongst the top three most expensive countries for industrial consumers of electricity in Europe. It is projected that Irish energy will continue to grow at 2-3% annually until at least 2020, making it imperative that security and competitiveness of energy is urgently addressed.
While rising energy costs threaten microeconomic competitiveness, Ireland’s failure to meet its Kyoto obligations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions means that €2-4m will leave the Irish economy every week between 2008 and 2012.
In order to ensure, Security of Energy Supply, Environmental Sustainability and Economic Competitiveness, Ireland must develop secure, indigenous clean energy sources. There is significant potential across a wide range of renewable energy sources, which can be developed from a competitive cost base. In addition to providing a more secure and environmentally sustainable supply of energy, an Irish renewables energy industry could provide new markets for Irish farmers and, create tens of thousands of jobs.
The Green Party urges the government to:
1 Reduce the development costs of renewable energy projects, by allowing the individuals engaged to claim a deduction against their income for tax purposes for the costs of these projects.
2 Provide adequate feed-in fixed price support mechanisms for off-shore wind farms, wave tidal and biomass systems.
3 Move towards mandatory percentage requirement for use of biofuels.
4 Increase investment in sustainable energy development and ensure that the allocated EU funding in this area is properly invested.
5 Follow the Danish example in decision-making regarding energy planning, whereby long-term energy targets are agreed on a cross-party basis with mechanisms for mandatory resetting of policies to meet short targets.
Housing and the construction industry
The Green Party is calling for:
1 Incentives towards increasing the energy efficiency in newly-built and existing housing.
2 The institution of a grant for the insulation of all houses and building which receive a grade D or lower rating for energy efficiency.
3 Extra funding, in the form of capital grants, for the development of eco-friendly housing.
Transport energy
79% of oil used in transport goes into private cars and goods vehicles and only 3% into public transport. Despite the announced increase in spending on public transport infrastructure, it has remained at a much lower level than spending on road building.
1 The Government should prioritise investment in public transport over road building to provide Irish people with a proper public transport alternative.
2 Motor tax and VRT should be abolished on a phased basis, over a five year period. The revenue would be recouped by increasing excise duty on fuel, excluding biofuel. This would ensure that the environmental costs of driving, rather than ownership itself, is taxed.
The Green Party: 16/17 Suffol
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