Friday, 1 July 2022 | 15.4°C Dublin
Dinny Galvin giving Minister Eamon Ryan a guided tour of some of the energy saving technology on his farm. Photo by Domnick Walsh
Declan Malone & Joan Maguire
Innovations that have taken place on a dairy farm in Lios Póil were presented to a meeting of the European Energy Council in Luxembourg on Monday as a prime example of smart and enterprising uses of energy on farms.
T he innovations that Dinny Galvin has implemented on his farm in Lios Póil made such an impression on Minister Eamon Ryan when he visited last Friday, that he brought them to the attention of his European counterparts in Luxembourg.
During the Minister’s visit to West Kerry Dinny was on hand to demonstrate how technology can assist farms with energy efficiencies - from re-purposing heat generated by milk coolers to using sensors to monitor the energy usage of machinery and to provide information on weather and grass growth.
Dinny’s work is one of many projects that are supported by the Corca Dhuibhne 2030 initiative, which has been described by Minister Ryan as “leading the way in exploring how communities can collaborate and thrive together as we face into the future.”
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During a visit to the Dingle Hub on Friday the Minister stressed the importance of taking action and learning from it. “You learn from doing,” he said. “A lot of the projects won’t work, failure is part of it... get up the next day and learn from it.”
Minster Ryan also launched Corca Dhuibhne 2030’s latest ‘Learning Briefs’, a summary of the outcomes and findings from each of the projects they have been involved in.
Dingle Hub General Manager Deirdre de Bhailís explained the importance of the Learning Briefs: “There are three ways the learnings from our projects in the Corca Dhuibhne 2030 initiative are of benefit. Firstly, what we have learnt will shape our future projects; secondly, they also serve as guidance to other communities; finally, and most importantly, they offer policymakers valuable insight as to what has worked for us and what could work better if a standardised national approach is taken.”
Minister Ryan also got an opportunity to hear about several other ‘green’ projects currently being developed in West Kerry. These included a vision for a sustainable transport model for West Kerry. And a selection of local food producers, including Murphy’s Ice Cream, Dingle Farmhouse Milk, Micilín Muc sausages and Dingle Sushi, outlined plans for a food brand called ‘Bia Dingle’ which aims to strengthen local food producers by working together.
Dingle Hub also showcased a pathway to developing an Anaerobic Digester facility on the Dingle Peninsula, which could help solve multiple climate challenges as well as delivering products like bioenergy that can fuel vehicles.
An avid supporter of public transport, Minister Ryan travelled to Dingle by bus, stopping in O’Dowd’s farm in Castlemaine to see the mixed enterprise where a dairy farm is combined with turkey and hen production, apple-growing and honey production.
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