Greystones Media Campus Limited has submitted a planning application to develop a multi-studio, state-of-the-art film/TV and media campus / film production facility on an 18-hectare IDA Ireland site at Killincarrig in Greystones.
The planned studio is backed by the state-owned Ireland Strategic Investment Fund, Capwell — a subsidiary of construction company Sisk — and film producer Conor Harrington of Trinity Film and Media.
Its promoters say that if the scheme is approved by Wicklow County Council, the 50-acre development could deliver 1,500 jobs in the sector. There would be a further 580 jobs created during the construction phase.
Alongside Ardmore and Ashford studios, the proposed facility would become the third film and television production campus in Ireland, .
The application proposes studios, offices and ancillary production buildings in a landscaped setting, which will more than double the available stage capacity available to film, TV and media crews in Ireland.
The development will consist of 73.511sqm of film studio media campus floor space, made up of 15 buildings of varying height and gross internal floor area, with a maximum height of 17.5m and maximum individual gross internal floor area of 8882m2. The buildings will include film studio sound stages, production facilities, workshops and ancillary accommodation on a site of 18.53 hectares, and all associated ancillary structures.
An Bord Pleanála has approved dairy processor giant Glanbia Ireland's plans to construct a new €140 million manufacturing facility in Belview, Co Kilkenny.
A spokesperson for Glanbia said:
Glanbia Ireland welcomes the decision by An Bord Pleanála to grant planning permission for a new continental cheese manufacturing facility at Belview, Co. Kilkenny.
“This strategic partnership between Glanbia Ireland and leading Dutch dairy producer Royal A-ware will create a new route to market for the milk supplied by Glanbia Ireland’s network of 4,500 family farms and diversify its portfolio of consumer dairy products and ingredients as part of a Brexit mitigation strategy.”
The proposed new facility will be located at a greenfield site near to Glanbia Ireland’s infant-nutrition plant at Belview, Co. Kilkenny and will produce continental cheeses in various formats.
Once fully commissioned, the new facility will have a production capacity of 450 million litres of milk per annum. Approximately 80 full time jobs will be created at the facility.
Image: Patrick Browne
Construction Jobs Expo is the new jobs and recruitment event for the construction and engineering sectors. Our next event will take place in Citywest Convention Centre on Saturday 10th October, 2020. This unique, one-day event will focus on connecting skilled talent with employers seeking to fill key job vacancies. Nowhere will you find the key players – employers at home and abroad and skilled, keen professionals – under one roof.
The RIAI has launched the Public Choice vote for Ireland’s favourite building, place or public space. The Public Choice Award is an important element of the annual RIAI Architecture Awards, now in their 31st year, which acknowledge the importance of excellence in the design and delivery of buildings across categories such as Adaption & Re-Use, Cultural or Public Buildings, Learning Environments, Wellbeing, Public Spaces, Workplaces and Living, as well as International projects.
There are 33 projects on this year’s shortlist, all of which were designed by RIAI-registered architects and were completed in 2019. The buildings are located in Cork, Dublin, Galway, Louth and Tyrone, as well as London and France.
Online voting is now open, and all of the Public Choice projects are available to view on the RIAI website at www.riai.ie. Voting closes at midnight on Friday, 3 July. You can only vote once.
Ciaran O’Connor, RIAI President, said: “Each of these projects is unique and addresses a particular set of challenges and opportunities. The jury looks for projects that have produced a creative, intelligent, innovative and quality design response to the brief. The shortlist includes 33 projects from 129 entries and the range of projects demonstrates the important contribution that architecture makes to positively affect all areas of our lives – from our homes and workplaces, to our schools and cultural spaces and beyond. You have until midnight on Friday, July 3rd to vote for your favourite project.”
Among the projects for the public to consider are: the adaption of the former Guinness Power House in Dublin; a health spa in Dublin; Cork’s Butter Museum; an Interpretation Project at Kylemore Abbey in Galway; a community project to support young people affected by social deprivation and drug abuse in Dublin, as well as a range of homes and housing developments across the country.
The 2019 RIAI Irish Architecture Public Choice award winner was An Ríocht, Scoil Chríost Rí, Boys National School, Caherdavin, Limerick, designed by Drake Hourigan Architects.
The RIAI Awards are supported by a number of Category Sponsors: Cabinpac, CEUD, Dulux Trade Ireland, Enterprise Ireland, Equitone, Kilsaran, Kingscourt Brick of Kingscourt Country Manor Bricks, The Arup Trust and Vandersanden of Kingscourt Country Manor Bricks.
See www.riai.ie for further details.
The CIF C-19 induction programme is designed to protect you, your family and your community whilst allowing you to work safely. Its purpose is to ensure that everyone working on a construction project understand how to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in the workplace.
When you complete the induction, you will receive a digital card, on your phone, confirming that you have successfully completed the programme. You will need this to access a site so have this ready.
1. You will need a smart phone, laptop or tablet
2. Click here and follow the instructions
3. The induction should take no more than 15 minutes
"The CIF online C-19 induction programme is designed to protect workers and their families and communities. Work should only happen where it is safe to do so. This induction will help you work safely. If in doubt, consult your Covid-19 Compliance officer, Health and Safety Officer or site management. Informed personal responsibility is critical and we are all depending on you to adopt these guidelines and to be vigilant on site about others on site. Thank you for your commitment to your industry and community by adapting these measures."
- Tom Parlon, Director General
Since the COVID-19 virus struck, the CIF has been supporting members to adjust to the rapidly changing environment – including an unprecedented industry shut-down by Government at the end of March. The CIF’s extensive engagement with Government, the HSE and other national and international experts ensures our members have the most up to date and accurate information on key issues such as safety, IR, return to work protocols. The information we provide CIF members helps them prepare for any relaxation on restrictions that the Government may announce in the future. Companies can only return to work when the Government deems it safe to do so
The CIF has collated this information into a ‘Return to Work’ resource pack and is making it available to anyone operating in the construction industry. It’s important to reiterate again, that companies can only return to work when the Government deems it safe to do so. Read more online here.
WIT Talks Architecture, Architectural Technology, and BIM is an online talk that will take place from 2pm-3pm on Friday, 5 June 2020. This interactive one hour video chat is designed to give CAO applicants interested in architecture the opportunity to ask those all important questions before confirming their CAO choices.
Hosted by Maire Henry, Head of Department of Architecture, along with other faculty staff this virtual event will help you to learn more about WIT's architecture programmes. Get involved, ask questions and have the chance to meet and see other prospective architecture students.
WIT Talks Architecture, Architectural Technology, and BIM is hosted using Zoom. To access the virtual event please use the 'Join a Meeting' login details below:
Meeting ID: 975 0097 6280
Meeting Password: 2ZTP2z
To download Zoom for desktop please click here and for mobile please visit the App Store or Google Play.
Lifelong learning funding initiatives at national level such as Springboard and Skillnets have proved very successful in fostering successful participation by adults in higher learning and WIT very much welcomes the announcement of greatly expanded, multi-year funding for adult learning through the Human Capital Initiative. WIT engages closely and energetically with industry and social partners at local and regional level to inform the development of these courses. The South East. WIT is very proud of its track record in adult education and looks forward to significant further expansion in parttime and flexible-learning provision serving the learning needs of the region through the development of the new Technological University for the South East of Ireland.
As always, you can contact WIT via this portal.
The Department of Public Expenditure and Reform (DPER) has published a report, peer-reviewed by TU Dublin, which aims to understand and address the reasons for low levels of productivity in the Irish construction sector.
Economic Analysis of Productivity in the Irish Construction Sector was commissioned by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform (DPER), produced by KPMG and Future Analytics Consulting Ltd. and peer-reviewed by Dr Avril Behan and Dr Róisín Murphy of TU Dublin. The purpose was to understand and address the reasons for low levels of productivity in the industry and identify specific recommendations and actions that can be undertaken to address these issues. The research was carried out in 2019, so does not take into account the impact of Covid-19.
A range of factors impacting productivity in the construction sector in Ireland has been identified in the research. These causes have been considered across three main stages of the project lifecycle:
To read the report in full, visit the DPER website.
The new University has well-developed campuses in Dublin City and in the two largest areas of population growth in the Greater Dublin Region – Blanchardstown and Tallaght. Now, a new city campus is being developed on a spectacular 73-acre site at Grangegorman in central Dublin. This is the largest higher education development project in Europe. The campus will provide an exceptional learning environment that supports research, innovation, and the advancement of knowledge and will welcome more than 10,000 students in September 2020. A further 5000 students will relocate to the campus by 2022.
TU Dublin are now taking applications for the Access to Apprenticeship September 2020 Programme. The Access to Apprenticeship Programme is aimed at young men and women aged 16 to 24 living in Dublin who experience social and economic barriers. The programme provides an opportunity for young people to;
The purpose of the 12-week programme is to support young people to progress into apprenticeships.
The provisional closing date for applications is Thursday the 20th of August.
Their team recommends starting the application as soon as possible as it could take some time to get the required documentation together and are not accepting applications for student’s currently enrolled and attending school.
There will be an online information session on the 4th of June where their team will provide information on the Access to Apprenticeship programme, the application process and answer any questions you might have. Further details will follow this event.
If you have any queries or need assistance, click here, or you can email accesstoapprenticeship@tudublin.ie or ring (086) 031 6939 or (01) 402 4042.
Book now to attend the Roads and Transportation Society AGM, to hear the chairperson's review of the year, elect the new committee and discuss plans for the coming year. Please note this is a virtual meeting, so booking is essential. Those who register will be sent the joining details the day before the AGM.
The 2020 AGM of the Roads and Transportation will be a virtual meeting enabling members to join from home.
Chairperson Carol Kavanagh will provide a review of the past year, the new committee will be elected and plans for the coming year discussed.
New committee members are always welcome so if you are interested in joining the committee for 2020-2021, you can do so using the booking system.
The Roads and Transportation society is for engineers with an interest in road and rail design, transport planning and traffic engineering. This committees arranges and host technical presentations, discussions, debate and social events in the regions and represent the group at liaison committee. If you are interested in being a part of this, please contact one of the team.
In response to the Coronavirus crisis, the Government have agreed to extend the public participation periods in the planning system for a period of three weeks.
Eoghan Murphy T.D., Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government said: “We find ourselves in unprecedented times. People have been asked to remain at home, with older and vulnerable people cocooning and others only leaving their home for certain essential purposes. Given these new restrictions on the movement of people, it is important to extend the public participation periods in the planning system, to ensure that the integrity of decision making is upheld, and to ensure that plan making for new development can continue. Work will continue through these new restrictions so that the planning system is well placed to play its vital role in supporting the recovery.”
Planning applications can continue to be made by post, and authorities can engage with applicants by electronic means, accepting submissions by post and electronic means. Most authorities have on-line systems for inspecting planning applications. The extended time will also apply to planning appeals, which An Bord Pleanála will continue to receive by post.
The Orders made by the Minister and the Government, will add 23 days to the statutory time periods for processing planning applications within the Planning Acts. This is to reflect the period up to Easter Sunday, during which time people have asked to stay at home, other than leaving for essential purposes and includes a short period thereafter to ensure that there is adequate notice of revised arrangements.
This will impact on the time taken to process planning applications, in the following ways:
These are short-term but necessary accommodations to the planning processes to ensure that the planning system can continue to function and to ensure the integrity of decision making in the weeks ahead.
The Department is also recommending to planning authorities that public meetings on all Plans, are deferred for the period of the extension. This includes Development Plan, Development Plan Variations and Local Area Plan processes. This is considered necessary because such processes require engagement with members of the public, and in particular public meetings.
Minister Murphy concluded: “The planning and development system plays an important role in supporting the economic development of the country, and will play a vital role in supporting social and economic activity when this COVID 19 emergency is past. I am deeply appreciative of the efforts of the staff of planning authorities in keeping the planning system operating and open for business at this time. The measures taken today will support the integrity of decision making, by ensuring that public participation in the process is not diminished by the current restrictions.”
The engineering sector must continue to develop new innovations and solutions to support the vital work of frontline health workers in the challenge against the Covid-19 pandemic, Engineers Ireland’s Director General Caroline Spillane has said.
Referencing key work by various engineering firms across Ireland including the critical provision of ventilators and testing kits, a project to harness UV light to keep hospitals sanitized, and the implementation of essential infrastructure to support remote working, Engineers Ireland's Director General, Caroline Spillane, said: “Behind every design-led engineering solution are real people, communities and families that benefit. Right now, Irish engineers are working to support those at the frontline of this global pandemic as they rapidly respond through the delivery and development of medical supplies and new innovations to support healthcare workers and wider society. From rapidly increasing the production of ventilators, to producing testing kits and other tools, I thank engineering employers for driving these solutions which will support the treatment and mitigation of the impact of the virus.”
The professional body for engineers also stressed the importance of Ireland’s utility companies, who are working to ensure essential services such as water, electricity, gas and broadband continue to be provided to sustain businesses, healthcare settings and support families including older people and workers at home.
Ms. Spillane added: “Additionally, utilities such as water, electricity, gas and broadband are essential services that play a vital role in economic and social development. Now more than ever, our utility companies and their engineers have a critical role in supporting and sustaining households and businesses, including our healthcare environments.”
As the global demand for ventilators increases, Galway-based Medtronic has increased ventilator production and is on track to more than double its capacity to manufacture and supply ventilators in response to the urgent needs of patients and healthcare systems.
New communities of engineers and medical device specialists are also working together, to assist with ventilator production. Colin Keogh, Mechanical Engineer and Co-Founder of the Open Source Ventilator Ireland project is leading an international community of engineers, designers and medical professionals who are working together to develop a low-cost ventilator. In collaboration with fellow founders Conall Laverty and David Pollard, the team is focused on developing a field emergency ventilator. Colin is a former Chairperson of Engineers Ireland’s Young Engineers Society.
John Wallace, who runs the engineering firm IDS Solutions based in Co. Clare, has also brought engineers and medical professionals together to develop a prototype ventilator that could be designed and built within weeks. His team is drawing on expertise from mechanical and electronic engineering, medical device specialists, and anaesthetists to come up with a design that can be easily adapted.
Biomedical engineers and founders of MedScan3D, James Wall and Jacqui O'Connor have also offered a non-profit service to hospitals to create 3D-printed healthcare parts should supplies run low.
Randox, the Co. Antrim based health diagnostics company, has developed quick and cost-effective testing kits for Covid-19.
In efforts to limit the potential spread of COVID-19 in hospitals, Irish start-up Akara Robotics has developed a new robot to keep hospitals clean. Dr. Conor McGinn and his team of engineers at Akara Robotics are the innovators behind Stevie the Robot, a socially assistive robot designed to interact with people in care homes. Now, the Robotics team has added a new robot, Violet who uses UVC light, a clinically proven technology for killing viruses, bacteria and harmful germs and has a range of safety features that allow it to be deployed in high-traffic areas. Violet has recently been tested in a healthcare environment and could soon be ready for deployment.
The Irish Defence Forces Corps of Engineers are providing essential services and supports to the HSE at COVID-19 testing facilities, including at the Dublin City facility alongside the Irish Naval Service ship at the Samuel Beckett bridge.
Aquila Bioscience, an Irish company based at NUI Galway, has also collaborated with the Irish Defence Forces to provide soldiers with its Anti-Bioagent Wipe (ABwipeTM).
Chinese tech company Huawei, which has been operating in Ireland for over 15 years, is sending a shipment of medical equipment to Ireland, as part of its Covid-19 relief efforts. Huawei will donate personal protective equipment to help those working on the frontline, and ICT solutions which could help with video conferencing needs.
Akkure, an Irish digital health startup, has also recently unveiled the COVIDMedBot, an online personalised risk assessment and guideline tool for use at this time. Free to use, the COVIDMedBot provides personalised risk assessment and guidelines, in line with the HSE recommendations.
