Connacht Tribune
Dismay as marine park proposal rejected by planners
A lifeline project, with the potential to create around 200 long-term jobs in an area of South Connemara ravaged by unemployment and emigration, has been rejected by planners – primarily environmental grounds.
The proposed marine park or Páirc na Mara, east of Cill Chiaráin village, was viewed by many as a real chance to turn the tide for this unemployment blackspot.
Locals – and the vast majority of Galway West politicians – were supportive of the project which was viewed as one that would revitalise the area.
That said, Galway County Council’s decision to refuse permission for the marine park was welcomed by Galway Bay Against Salmon Cages which had expressed fears that the marine farm would extract huge amounts of fresh water to breed more than 1.5 million salmon smolts.
They said that millions of litres of fresh water would have been extracted on a regular basis by the salmon farm company operating the smolt rearing units – from the same lakes as the Carna and Cill Chiaráin water supply system.
“Local residents can now rest assured that their domestic water supply won’t be hijacked to line the pockets of people who have no regard for the local environment or residents,” said Billy Smyth, Chairman of Galway Bay Against Salmon Cages.
It was proposed to provide a marine innovation park Pairc na Mara on a 60-acre brownfield site at Cill Chiarain.
The development involves the provision of a number of marine-based facilities as well as education and research facilities in the townlands of Cill Chiarain, Ardmore and Calvary.
It involves the abstraction of water from Lough Scannan, its transfer to and temporary storage in Iron Lake along with impoundment and pumping to the Marine Park site with a rising main.
According to the application, Galway County Council has previously granted planning permission for aquaculture-based activities on the site of the proposed marine park back in 2002 while the first phase of the innovation park was built in 2005.
There were a considerable number of submissions supporting the application with many saying that this part of Connemara would benefit greatly from such a development.
But there were others who expressed concern over the potential impact it would have on the environment, and it would be located in a highly sensitive area.
Cllr Gerry King said that it was a valuable opportunity lost to the area given the amount of unemployment that exists. He added that there was local outrage at the decision.
The Fianna Fail councillor met with those behind the project and residents in support of the project. He said that they all agreed that this decision should be appealed to the higher planning authority.
It was refused on the basis that it would adversely affect the integrity and conservation objectives of the European sides in the vicinity of environmental value.
Planners stated that they could not be certain that the project would not adversely affect the integrity of Cill Ciaran Bay, the islands and Connemara bog complex
They also said that the Environmental Impact Assessment Report did not present a sufficient level of information on the impact it would have on human health, biodiversity, land, soil, water along with cultural heritage and the landscape.
Connacht Tribune
Former GTC rebrands with aim of helping Irish companies across the region to grow internationally
Galway Technology Centre last week unveiled its a major rebrand and shift in direction, with the launch of its new vision and regional remit as Platform94 – with the lofty ambition of helping to create 505 direct and 323 indirect jobs over the next five years.
It is estimated that this will bring a Gross Added Value (GVA) of over €62.4 million to the regional economy, annually.
In addition, across the next 15 years – through connecting expanding technology companies globally – the organisation plans to generate 1,535 direct forms of employment and 982 indirect roles, resulting in an estimated GVA impact of over €190 million.
Unveiled at a ceremony in the Connacht Hotel last Wednesday, Platform94 will achieve this by moving beyond a physical location in Galway, supporting businesses across the West and delivering scaling expertise for firms in Mayo, Roscommon – and Galway.
The largest and longest established social enterprise centre for the technology sector in the West, GTC was founded in 1994 to meet the needs of an emerging cluster of ICT companies outside the capital.
Platform94 will build on this legacy, empowering Irish businesses to scale globally whilst creating employment opportunities regionally, nationally and internationally.
Platform94 is owned by Galway Chamber and WestBIC and supported by Enterprise Ireland, and at its launch, it set out the platform and conditions for regional collaboration and robust growth across the West.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
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Galway’s growing population is becoming less religious and older, according to the findings of last year’s Census which were released this week.
The population has grown by almost 20,000 since 2016, with the 2022 Census which was carried out in April of last year reporting a more than 7% increase in numbers across city and county.
In the same period, the population has got older with the average age in the county increasing from 38.1 to 39.7; in the city, the average age jumped from 35.9 in 2016 to 37.4 in the latest figures.
The county’s population is growing at a faster rate than the city, up by 13,933 (7.8%) in six years; the city has added 5,746 (7.3%) to its numbers.
The growth in population has been attributed in Central Statistics Office (CSO) data to a mixture of ‘natural’ increases as a result of new births, and inward migration.
In Galway City, there were six births per 1,000 population and the same rate of inward migration.
In the county, inward migration represented a greater proportion of the increase at seven per 1,000 to six births per 1,000 people.
Religious beliefs nationwide showed significant change with the numbers identifying as Roman Catholic declining from 79% of the population in 2016 to 69% in 2022.
In County Galway, it remains dominant with 78.5% of the population calling themselves Catholics – 11.2% said they had no religion.
In the city, just over half of the population were self-identifying Catholics (56.2%) while 20.9% had no religion.
Get the comprehensive insight into the Census figures in this week’s Connacht Tribune, on sale in shops now, or you can download the digital edition from www.connachttribune.ie. You can also download our Connacht Tribune App from Apple’s App Store or get the Android Version from Google Play.
Mayo 2-13
Galway 1-10
By Ivan Smyth at Tuam Stadium
GALWAY minor footballers fell to Connacht final defeat as Mayo came from a point down at the break to prevail by six at Tuam Stadium on Friday evening.
Alan Glynn’s side kicked only 1-2 in the final period with Galway struggling to reach the heights they had shown throughout the round robin series. Even when they led 0-8 to 0-7 at the break, they had flattered to deceive against a wasteful Mayo outfit. The loss of Seán Walsh through injury was a monumental blow even if his replacement Stephen O’Grady was involved in three Galway scoring chances towards the end of the opening period.
Walsh’s presence and ability to win primary possession even when outnumbered was greatly missed. Galway weren’t able to enjoy the same dominance at centre field that they did in the round robin clash between these sides. Shay McGlinchey was also nursing a knock coming into this contest as the Galway captain kicked two early points but was understandably not at his scintillating best. Charlie Cox limped off late on with what appeared to be cramp.
It was an evening where simply everything went awry from a Galway perspective as corner back Vincent Gill was sent off in the 56th minute after picking up a second booking. The corner back tagged Tommy Lydon in the opening stages and received a yellow card for his second foul on the dangerous attacker in the 13th minute. Gill moved off Lydon and followed Darragh Beirne with decent success for the first half before moving back onto his original marker.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
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The Connacht Tribune Live app is the home of everything that is happening in Galway City and county. It’s completely FREE and features all the latest news, sport and information on what’s on in your area. Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
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