Minister for Natural Resources, Sean Kyne, T.D., today (Tuesday 7th November, 2017), launched a Sectoral Economic Review of the Irish Geoscience Sector, by Indecon International Economic Consultants at the opening of Geoscience 2017, the annual conference of Geological Survey Ireland (GSI), in Dublin Castle.
Economic Review of Geoscience Sector
The Economic Review puts a value of €3,277m on the overall Economic Impact of the sectoral outputs for 2016, across the areas of Geotourism & Geoheritage, Groundwater, Extractive Industries, Geoscience Research and Geohazards. Employment (FTE's) figures calculated for the same year, across the same subsectors, comes to 15,110 directly employed, with a further 9,628 Indirect and Induced, giving a total of 24,739.
Commenting on the report Minister Kyne said, "I greatly welcome this new report which gives us firm figures on the value of the Geoscience Sector to Ireland. It is a sector that may be sometimes overlooked and yet is clearly very significant. In terms of employment, it is worth noting that these are generally high-end professional jobs and that much of the activity, being linked to Geotourism and Natural Resources, is located throughout the country and not concentrated in our cities."
Koen Verbruggen, Director of Geological Survey Ireland (GSI) added, "This report is very encouraging and will be vital in planning a new strategy for GSI. The figures show a healthy economic recovery in the Geoscience Sector, but also a significant growth in areas such as Geotourism and Research, and the need to plan and prepare for Natural Hazards such as have occurred lately with flooding and landslides. The analysis of the impact of GSI backed initiatives such as INFOMAR and the Geoscience Ireland business cluster is also a strong validation of our current programmes."
The new report was compiled from CSO figures and other sources by Indecon International Economic Consultants and is available for download .
Left to right: Koen Verbruggen, GSI; Ronnie O'Toole, Indecon; Minister of State Séan Kyne; Matt Collins A Sec, Natural Resources.
Geoscience 2017 Conference
The annual Geoscience conference showcases highlights of Geological Survey Ireland (GSI) and their partners' activities. The programme linked updates on the work of GSI programmes with presentations from stakeholders who are using the outputs of the programmes and adding value to the data, including; Land Mapping, Geotourism & Burren/Cliffs of Moher Geopark, Groundwater & the EPA Catchments, INFOMAR & the Marine Development Team, Tellus & Mineral Exploration, Geoscience Ireland & Enterprise Ireland, GSI Research & Science Foundation Ireland. The programme also included panel sessions on "Geoscience and Brexit" and "Competing Interests in the Future of Geoscience". There was also a keynote address from Kieran Feighan, President of Engineers Ireland and a presentation on Future Challenges for Geoscience from Prof. Balz Kamber of TCD. In addition to the report, the new GSI website was launched, as well as a new Quaternary Geological Map of Ireland, and Bedrock Geology map of the UK and Ireland.