The established Blue Economy sectors in Ireland directly employ nearly 25 thousand people and generate approx. €1.6 billion in GVA (2021). The Irish Blue Economy represents a limited share of the national economy, contributing by approx. 1% to national employment and 0.4% to national GVA.
The relative size and share of employment in the Irish Blue Economy has been steadily increasing between 2009 (39 thousand people) and 2017 (63 thousand people). The Irish Blue Economy workforce nearly halved between 2019 and 2020, mainly because of the economic contraction triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic. It further decreased by another 7 thousand people between 2020 and 2021 (-23%).
In terms of GVA, Ireland’s pre-pandemic Blue Economy was increasing steadily from €1.6 billion in 2009 to €2.8 billion in 2018. Then, the health crisis hit the Blue Economy hard, imposing a 36% contraction in GVA between 2019 and 2020, its lowest level, which increased only marginally in 2021. In relative terms, the share of the Blue Economy GVA to the national economy decreased from 1.1% in the 2009-2014 period to 0.4% in 2021.
The largest Blue Economy sector in Ireland is Marine living resources, accounting for nearly 34% of the country’s Blue Economy GVA and 37% of its workforce. Two other sectors make up for nearly half of the national Blue Economy GVA, namely Maritime transport and Coastal tourism, followed by Port activities with another 13%. In terms of employment, however, this latter is by far the largest sector, occupying more than 44% of the Blue Economy workforce of the country. Next is Marine living resources, which employs 37% of the national Blue Economy workforce.
In the EU, Ireland ranks 10th in GVA for the Marine living resources and the Marine non-living resources sectors.
Ireland has a coastline of 1 448 km. The country's main ports primarily handle bulk cargo, roll-on/roll-off (Ro-Ro) traffic, and general cargo. The largest national ports with container-handling facilities include Dublin Port, handling approx. 24.5 million Tonnes of goods per year (2021 data), the Port of Limerick (11 million Tonnes/year) and the Port of Cork (9.3 million Tonnes/year). The main important fishing ports are Killybegs, Castletownbere, Dunmore East, Union Hall, Ros A Mhil, Kilmore Quay and Greencastle.
In terms of passengers, the largest passenger ports in Ireland primarily cater to ferry services, connecting the country with the United Kingdom and mainland Europe. Some of the prominent passenger ports in Ireland include Dublin Port (with more than 840 000 passengers embarking and disembarking each year), Rosslare Harbour (154 000 passengers/year) and the Port of Cork (23 000 passengers/year).
Several organizations are monitoring the Irish Blue Economy at the national level, as illustrated below:
The Marine Institute is the State agency responsible for marine research, technology development and innovation in Ireland. It provides scientific and technical advice to Government to help inform policy and to support the sustainable development of Ireland’s marine resource. It publishes reports on Ireland’s Ocean Economy as well as information on marine research, oceanography, marine resource management, and sustainable development of Ireland's marine resources.
The Irish Maritime Development Office (IMDO) is the Irish government office which provides support to national and international maritime businesses in Ireland. It is the aim of the IMDO to be the focal point for maritime business in Ireland. The IMDO provides government and industry with a range of information and reporting across the sector and works with international businesses to help them set-up or expand in Ireland. The IMDO is also Ireland’s designated Shortsea Shipping Agency and provides independent advice and guidance on EU funding initiatives.
Bord Iascaigh Mhara (BIM) is the Irish Sea Fisheries Board, responsible for the development of the Irish seafood industry. It provides information on sustainable fisheries, aquaculture, and seafood processing, as well as industry insights and market trends related to the blue economy.
Other national sources of information on the Irish Blue Economy are:
- University of Galway. Socio-Economic Marine Research Unit. Ireland’s Ocean Economy – June 2019.
- Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine.
- Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI).
For more national level data, please visit the Dashboards section within the EU Blue Economy Observatory, where you can also find information about Educational and Employment opportunities in the Blue Economy sectors.
