Ireland to export green wind energy to United Kingdom
Ireland will export large amounts of wind energy to the UK to help Britain meet its green energy targets, under a deal between the countries signed on Thursday.
The agreement could pave the way for the building of extensive clusters of wind farms throughout the Irish midlands and off the country’s coast to supply power directly to British consumers.
“Trading power with Ireland could increase the amount of green power in our energy mix and potentially bring down costs for UK consumers,” said Ed Davey, UK energy secretary. “Making the most of the natural renewable resource available around our islands could benefit the economies of both countries.”
The UK is struggling to find an estimated £110bn of investment needed to build enough green energy infrastructure to meet its EU targets, legal action and fines threatened from the European Commission if it fails. Westminster insists that it can meet an EU target to secure 15 per cent of electricity from renewable sources by 2020 by building domestic capacity, such as offshore wind farms.
But with green energy accounting for only 3 per cent of the UK total, Britain is increasingly likely to use flexibility in the EU directive to import Irish wind power to help meet its targets at lower cost.
Dublin is trying to export up to 5,000 megawatts each day of surplus electricity to the UK electricity grid by 2020 – equivalent to Ireland’s daily use of electricity. It estimates that up to 6,000 jobs could be created during the building phase of projects, which would provide a stimulus to its crisis-hit economy.
“The opportunity to export this green power presents an opportunity for employment growth and export earnings which we must seize if we can,” said Pat Rabbitte, Ireland’s energy minister.
The two countries signed a memorandum of understanding in Dublin on Thursday committing them to develop the financial and legal framework for energy trading during 2013. A joint steering group will determine the level of subsidy needed to be offered to companies, which have already unveiled plans to invest more than €10bn (£8.5bn) up to 2020 in Irish wind farms and energy interconnectors with the UK. The two countries hope to be in a position to sign a full intergovernmental agreement next year to provide certainty to private companies planning renewable energy investments.
Mainstream Renewable Power, a company founded by Irish entrepreneur Eddie O’Connor, proposes to build an “energy bridge” to export up to 5,000 megawatts of electricity to the UK.
Mr O’Connor told the Financial Times that he had finalised negotiations with the National Grid to begin exports by 2017.
“The potential is enormous. We have already signed up hundreds of landowners across the Irish midlands and will create the largest wind farm in Europe,” he said.
Mr O’Connor, who sold his previous green energy company Airtricity to Eon and Scottish & Southern Energy for €1.8bn, said Ireland could provide wind energy at very cheap rates to the UK.
Element Power, a green energy company owned by private equity Group Hudson Clean Energy partners, has unveiled plans for an €8bn “greenwire” wind energy project linking the UK and Ireland to export 3,000 megawatts of wind energy by 2018. It plans to develop 40 wind farms across several counties in the Irish midlands and an interconnector between Ireland and Wales.
But the proposal to build multiple wind farms in Ireland to supply UK customers has prompted opposition among environmentalists in Ireland. Wind farm information groups have sprung up in parts of the country, expressing concern about the scale of the proposals.
“I don’t think it is fair that Irish people will be forced to put up some of the biggest turbines in the world to solve a British problem,” said Andrew Duncan, spokesman for the Lakeland Windfarm Information group.
“There has been no consultation on this and yet Irish landowners are already being signed up. They want to get it done quickly and rush it through,” he said.
Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore defends nurse jobs scheme
Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore has defended paying newly qualified nurses 20 per cent less than the normal starting salary.
Amid heated Dáil exchanges today, Mr Gilmore said the proposal was about creating jobs. “That is our top priority,” he added. “It is about getting people into employment and gaining experience.”
He said the 35,000 nurses working currently in the system would be increased to 36,000.
“These are additional posts for graduate nurses…and, you know, at a time when there is so much unemployment, when there are so many young graduates who cannot get work at all, I think members of this House should be welcoming the creation of jobs rather than coming in here and complaining about it,” he added.
Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin said Minister for Health Dr James Reilly had said that if nurses and midwives were not happy with the initiative, they could emigrate or work in fast food outlets.
This, Mr Martin said, was an appalling intervention by the Minister and represented a let them eat cake attitude.
Sinn Féin deputy leader Mary Lou McDonald said it was very clear that 1,000 existing posts within the system would be displaced to bring in graduates and exploit them.
Independent TD Mattie McGrath said that when Mr Gilmore was in Opposition he had been full of righteous indignation. “Is this Labour’s way now?” he asked.
‘Do not resuscitate’ directions on Leitrim nursing home residents files’
No evidence of discussions on files
A new inspection report into the private Mullross Nursing Home in Kilclare, Co Leitrim, has revealed that “do not resuscitate” directions were in some residents’ files.
The report says there was no evidence available that the home had ensured this had been discussed with the residents, or their relatives, or the multidisciplinary team.
The HIQA inspections in December and earlier this month found that there was no evidence that any communication had occurred with regard to resuscitation orders to ensure the residents had been involved in the decision.
It was confirmed today that the home, which was taken over by the HSE in early January, has closed and all residents have been moved out.
Hopes locally that the home could be kept open under new management have faded.
Today, the Health Information and Quality Authority published the final inspection report, which led to the HSE taking control of the facility, which could cater for 30 residents and employed 32 staff.
HIQA says the system in place at Mullross increased the risk of medical errors occurring.
Some medicines that were not suitable for crushing were crushed by staff and no maximum dose was identified for some pain killers, some of which were controlled drugs.
No temperature gauge was available in the medication fridge to control the temperature of certain drugs.
The report cites persistent failings of the Health Act 2007 and found:
- There had been no person in charge of the home from September 2011 until May 2012
- Poor wound management, nutritional assessment and pain management
-A photograph of wounds could not be taken to monitor care due to a dead battery in the camera.
- A resident had a serious pressure sore that was not receiving suitable care
- Many residents had not been weighed recently even though they had been losing weight
- An incident of bruising to a resident was recorded in the care file but not documented in an incident report and was not investigated
- A failure to monitor a resident after they had an epileptic seizure
- A resident who had deteriorated from 13 December to 18 December 2013 without an apparent medical review
- It found that the person in charge had resigned from her post in late December, the third person in charge since the home had been registered.
During the inspection, the provider told HIQA that seven residents were medically reviewed each Monday but there was no documentation in the medical file to support this.
The Health Service Executive took control of the home in Leitrim on 4 January last.
Following the concerns raised by HIQA, a meeting was held with the registered provider of the home, who agreed to the authority’s decision to cancel his registration.
The HSE made alternative arrangements for the management of the home, but it has now closed.
Mullross Nursing Home wrote to residents at the end of December saying it was to close and alternative accommodation would have to be found.
The home had operated since 1987.
At the start of this month, Stephen Buckley, the registered provider, said that the home would not be able to meet the requirements of the 2009 Health Act by January 2014 and had to give notice to residents and staff.
He said that the physical structure and room sizes were issues and the building would not be compliant with regulations.
The home was leased from owner Patricia Foley.
Ms Foley had insisted that the physical structure issues could be dealt with by 2014 and she had hoped to be possibly in a position to take it over.
A HIQA inspection report on the home in May 2012 found that some actions required since the last inspection had not been implemented.
Among the issues of concern then were the management of medicines, staffing and recruitment, maintenance of records, notification of incidents and the complaints procedure.
A HSE inspection in 2007 found the home was not complying with certain regulations, including the prevention of infection.
The Irish Patients’ Association has said it is shocked at the findings of today’s report.
Stephen McMahon said it should be made clear who wrote the “Do not resuscitate” orders in some residents’ records.
He said the Minister for Health needed to introduce legislation to cover DNR orders to protect vulnerable patients.
Intel’s 4,300 new jobs on cards for build chip plant in Ireland as it gets planning permission
4,300 new jobs on cards as Intel gets planning permission to build US$4bn 14nm chip plant in Ireland
Ireland’s lead planning agency An Bord Pleanála has given chip giant Intel the go-ahead it needs to construct a massive US$4bn chip plant that will produce the next generation of 14 nanometer (nm) microprocessors. The two year-project, if it gets the final go-ahead from Intel’s board, has the potential to generate 3,500 construction and 800 full-time technology jobs.
In early 2011, Intel revealed plans to begin a substantial new $500 construction process at Leixlip campus in Co Kildare, where it already employs around 4,000 people. The new build, a redevelopment of the former Fab 14 operation at Leixlip, is to develop the next-generation facilities to handle future products.
At the time, Intel said the project would create 200 high-level technology jobs, as well as 850 construction jobs.
Now it appears that number of jobs could be quadrupled as Intel moves to the next generation of computing technology as it keeps pace with Moores Law.
In May last year, Intel CEO Paul Otellini confirmed Intel Ireland’s Leixlip plant is one of three global sites that has been chosen to produce its next-generation 14nm chips. The two other sites that have been chosen are Intel’s Oregon and Arizona plants.
Intel is moving from a 22nm process to a 14nm process and aims to create 10nm, 7nm and 5nm chips beyond 2015.
85% of Irish people want to stay in EU
A total of 85pc of Irish people want the country to remain in the EU. However, the number of people who want to keep the euro currency is at just 73pc, according to a new European Movement Ireland/Red C poll.
A significant 83pc of Irish adults believe that Ireland has, on balance, benefited from EU membership.
Irish-based professor wins €2.3m funding for research on city technology
An Irish-based professor has won €2.3 million in funding from the European Research Council to examine how technology is influencing the cities in which we live.
Prof Rob Kitchin, who is director of the National Institute of Regional and Spatial Analysis at NUI Maynooth, will head the five-year research project.
The Programmable Cities project is to examine a number of different areas, including how information is captured on citizens and places, how such data is processed and how behaviour within a city is influenced by different software systems – from traffic management to security.
“Software is now essential to the functioning of cities, a vital element in the operation and governance of travel, the built environment, consumption, work, home life, services and utilities, and the project will address a serious gap in social science research by answering key questions concerning the nature of software and how it is reshaping how we understand, manage, work and live in the city,” Prof Kitchin said.
Specialist team
The €2.3 million award will fund the recruitment of a specialised team of four post-doctoral researchers and four PhD students. The research team will be based primarily at NUI Maynooth, with some overseas fieldwork required.
The team will examine how digital technologies are being used to tackle everyday issues and to what extent software changes how places function and how people behave. It will also look at how, increasingly, software and digital sensors are being embedded into everyday environments.
Retail companies, for example, use data collected on products, staff and customers to monitor stock levels, organise supply chains of goods and profile shoppers to decide what products sell best and where stores should be located.
The president of NUI Maynooth, Prof Philip Nolan, said the university fostered a research environment that aimed to promote understanding of new and emerging issues which society faces.
“The Programmable City is truly pioneering research, analysing an unchartered area that has become hugely relevant as technology becomes more influential in our lives,” Prof Nolan said. “We look forward to its exciting conclusions over the next five years.”
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