From Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform
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A €5.4m marine monitoring scheme using technology to understand the impacts of climate change in the Irish Sea will be announced today (17 September 2018) by Minister for Finance and Public Expenditure and Reform, Paschal Donohoe TD and Welsh Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Mark Drakeford.
Backed with €4.3m of EU funding, the STREAM (Sensor Technologies for Remote Environmental Aquatic Monitoring) project will bring together partners on both sides of the Irish Sea to develop advanced marine monitoring systems that will contribute to a better understanding of the impacts of climate change, lower the cost of marine observation and accelerate the process of providing data to key organisations.
Supported through the Ireland Wales Cooperation Programme , Waterford Institute of Technology will lead the scheme alongside Swansea University and Cork Institute of Technology.
STREAM will develop sensors capable of providing real-time environmental data to organisations in Ireland and Wales, which are responsible for protecting and improving the productive capacity of our waters in response to a need to better understand the impact of climate change on water quality and biodiversity in estuarine waters.
Data will be made available in real-time through web portals and mobile applications and mass-produced sensors will provide a consistent, non-intrusive and low cost service. Detail of the effects of climate change will be made available at a local level.
The project will host workshops and summer schools to inform coastal communities on these local impacts of climate change.
Commenting on the initiative, the Minister for Finance and Public Expenditure and Reform, Paschal Donohoe said:
"I am delighted to see the launch of another EU-funded project under the Ireland Wales Programme. The continuing cooperation between our two nations in areas such as scientific research, yields benefits on all sides. Climate change is a shared challenge, which serves to highlight the importance of cross-border cooperation through projects like STREAM. By furthering our understanding of the impact of climate change in this way we will be better placed to combat it in the future, improving the quality of our seas for the years to come".
The Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Mark Drakeford said:
"Preserving our marine environment in Wales and Ireland for economic prosperity and enjoyment by current and future generations is of vital importance. This is an excellent example of how EU funds are enabling partners on both sides of the Irish Sea to support communities to mitigate the impacts of climate change".
Dr. Joe O’Mahony, Principal Investigator at Waterford Institute of Technology added: ‘WIT welcomes the significant investment made by the EU in further developing the marine sensing and communications knowledge base within our cross-border region’.
“This investment builds on the unique blend of expertise offered across all partner organisations and will ensure that the cross-border region continues to be an exemplar for clean and productive seas.”
“We are very much looking forward to working with our partners in both Wales and Ireland on this very exciting and important operation.”
ENDS