Former UCC lecturer named new Dutch honorary consul

FORMER UCC senior lecturer Dr Val Cummins has been appointed the new Dutch honorary consul for Cork, Kerry, and Limerick.

Dr Cummins, who formerly held the title of managing director of the Coastal and Marine Research Centre in UCC and is currently the executive director of Simply Blue Group, was officially inaugurated at an event in the River Lee Hotel last week.

The ambassador of the Netherlands, Maaike van Koldam, gave a speech at the event, highlighting the many historic and present-day ties between the Netherlands and Cork, such as the recent cycling study trip undertaken by the Cork City Council.

The ambassador explained that both Ireland and the Netherlands have set ambitious targets to be carbon neutral by 2050, and that offshore wind is therefore of high priority.

Dr Cummins also addressed the crowd, saying it was an honour to accept the role, and stating the grave importance of climate targets, but adding: “We have the solutions — the science, the satellites telling us what’s going on, the technology and the potential to unlock significant investment”.

“We’re learning how to do this in Ireland, but the Dutch have already excelled, they’ve been world leaders and an inspiration to me.

“We have a lot to learn from our friends and colleagues, and luckily they’re willing to share.”

She explained that the Dutch have great experience in the area, but that they have only 450km of coastline, whereas Ireland has over 3,000km, so said that the collaboration was “one heck of an opportunity”.

Speaking to The Echo after the event, she said that she was “pleasantly surprised” to be offered the role, “but then maybe I shouldn’t have been, because it’s so clear the strategic aim of the embassy is to develop those economic linkages, particularly in the offshore area.

“I had been involved in and impressed by the work that the embassy has been doing in the last couple of years, so I think that it’s a very good fit because of my background on the marine and energy side, but equally the objectives of the embassy to help Ireland to grow this sector.”

Ambassador van Koldam told The Echo: “Val is a wonderful person — she has a huge network, she’s very smart; she has experience in academia, in business, in maritime institutions; and all of that combined, and her being here and knowing everybody, means it’s a huge opportunity for us to work with her.”