Opening World Congress on Water Climate and Energy in Dublin

Last week I had the pleasure of opening the World Congress on Water Climate and Energy in the Dublin Convention Centre together with Irish MEP Mairéad McGuinness and Mr Paul Reiter Executive Director of the International Water Association (IWA). The reason I was asked to do this was that Engineers Ireland is the National Governing Body for the IWA who organised the conference. It was last held in Dublin in 1992. The conference running for 4 days was attended by 1,200 delegates from all over the world with many exotic examples of traditional forms of dress and headgear on display.

I used the opportunity to update the Congress in the new Irish Government initiative on Irish Water and to set this development in the context of European Water Policy generally.

Water is the key to life we know. It is also an increasing challenge to preserve it as a crucial resource for humanity - not least because the world population continues to grow and yet we cannot make more water! To further increase the challenge, water tends to be in abundance where most people generally do not live. This is true of the world and it's equally true in Ireland. Wars have been fought over access to water which is no surprise as humans can live for a month without food but will die in less than a week without water. Indeed the Vice President of the World Bank was heard to say in 1995 that 'many of the wars in this century were about oil but those of the next century will be over water!' Whether water will start wars or not we are not sure but we ARE sure that with the world population still growing that water will become an ever scarcer resource to be managed and indeed cared for.

PJ Rudden President of Engineers Ireland and Ray Earle Congress Chairman

Ireland generally has good air and water quality. In addition, energy intensity or energy use per unit of GDP is also the lowest among OECD countries. However despite this positive progress the current economic climate in Ireland represents a challenge for maintaining environmental commitments. It also presents opportunities to reassess and reform those policies that are both economically costly and environmentally damaging  - like not charging households for water usage, tolerating internationally high leakage rates from our water networks and sending more waste to landfill than is necessary when cleaner alternatives like recycling and energy recovery exist.

I might even say that there's nothing more powerful to effect real change in society than a good crisis. So let's not waste a good crisis and fix what is broken in our economy. That includes the management of our Water Resources.

Therefore this year as part of our economic recovery plans we are about to oversee a transformation of the Irish water industry. The Government here have concluded that a new national public utility as part of an existing utility Bord Gais offers the best opportunity to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of water service delivery, provide access to new funding sources and to improve strategic planning and accountability.

The new utility model to be called Irish Water or perhaps in Gaelic 'Uisce Eireann' will replace the historical role of 34 existing local authorities in this regard. This is seen as essential structural reform to deliver maximum efficiency in our water infrastructure and also because we had no funding model as Ireland does not meter or charge for water to domestic consumers. Currently only commercial and industrial customers are metered by the local authorities. Indeed thankfully it was made a condition of our IMF financial bailout that in future we charge all of our consumers for the public water that they use. A national metering programme will therefore soon commence which in time will fund a new investment programme to modernise and upgrade our water services based on use related charges.



Hosting a group of delegates from the World Congress on Water Climate and Energy to
Engineers Ireland HQ in Dublin. Back Row: Martin Nixon Sydney, 
Professor Michael Bruen UCD, Jerry Grant RPS Front Row: Ray Earle Congress Chairman, 
PJ Rudden President of Engineers Ireland, Roisin Bradford UCD and 
Dr Glen Daigger President of International Water Association

While there is some political opposition to this proposal I want to say here that Engineers Ireland fully support the Government's action, including the introduction of water charges on domestic dwellings. This not only makes economic sense - it also makes good environmental sense in terms of the “polluter pays” principle as an incentive to conserve the finite resource that is water. Householders currently pay for every other utility like electricity gas and communications so why not also for water on a 'pay by use' system. It should not however have taken an economic crisis in Ireland for us to come to our senses in this regard.

Ireland has also made very good progress on the implementation of the EU Water Framework Directive requiring Member States to protect and restore the quality of waters on a river catchment basis. In Ireland River Basin Management Plans for each of the 7 river basin districts have been adopted. The plans set out the current status of our waters, the objectives to be achieved by 2015 and a programme of measures in order to achieve those objectives. Water pollution from septic tanks and other on-site wastewater treatment systems is also being addressed through the introduction of legislation for their inspection and performance monitoring. This we support also in terms of Minister Hogan’s proposal.

Therefore in Ireland despite our recent economic difficulties we remain optimistic that by adopting the right economic, social and environmental responses that we as a country, are on our way back to prosperity but hopefully a more equitable and more sustainable form than we experienced before. We remain fixed on maintaining our membership in a strong Europe which has been the bedrock of our recent environmental sustainability.

We remain committed to the principles of the Europe 2020 Strategy in terms of its five ever ambitious objectives on employment, innovation, education, social inclusion and climate/energy. Most relevant of the 7 Flagship Initiatives is Resource Efficiency in our economies which have a special relevance to Water, Climate and Energy. We expect this resource efficiency to be a creator of major economic opportunities in each of our sectors and of improving productivity. A resource efficient Europe will deliver smart, sustainable and inclusive growth but these objectives must now be tempered by the new rules of economic governance applied by the EU Stability Pact Treaty.

In terms of our future approach to Water we very much look forward to the EU Blueprint to Safeguard Europe's Water Resources to be published later this year. This will build on the progress made with the EU Water Framework Directive and further consolidate our water framework legislation. It will ensure a sustainable balance between water demand and supply and the natural ecosystems they depend on.

Visit to Kilronan Harbour and Innishmore on Aran Islands

In the past few weeks I completed my round of Presidents Visits nationally to Infrastructure Projects by flying to the Aran Islands to view the recently completed Kilronan Harbour on Innishmore.

Kilronan Harbour under construction with breakwaters in the foreground (2009)
Courtesy of http://www.mpp.ie/

Flying with me was the Chairman of the West Region, Padraic O'Donoghue Professor of Civil Engineering at NUIG, Consultant Joe Murphy of Punch Consulting who designed the harbour and Regional Director Pat Nestor of BAM Contractors who built it. 

We were met by Kevin Finn Senior Marine Engineer Galway County Council and by Cathy Ní Ghoill Bainisteoir of Comharchumann Forbartha Árann (Manager of Innishmore Co-op) and Board Member on Údarás na Gaeltachta. Cathy also chaired the island's own Harbour Committee who were key stakeholders in the planning design and construction of the harbour by Galway County Council.



On the new harbour quay Padraic O'Donoghue, Pat Nestor, Joe Murphy,
Cathy Ní Ghoill and PJ Rudden



Kilronan Harbour costing some €40million is the largest project completed on an offshore island in the history of the state. It is a magnificent new facility that has and will continue to transform transport services to and from for islanders and tourists alike in addition to providing for the fishing and cargo industry also.

The harbour required construction of a 550m long breakwater to protect it from the Atlantic swell in Galway Bay. Separate berthing facilities were required for ferries, fishing vessels, cargo boats and the RNLI Aran Lifeboat in addition to car parking facilities to accommodate all harbour users.

On new breakwaters with existing pier, ferries and Aran Lifeboat in background 

Padraic O'Donoghue, PJ Rudden and Cathy Ní Ghoill

When we were on Innishmore we also viewed a number of very interesting waste, energy, childcare, assisted living and amenity projects all proposed and built by the Comharchumann with funding from the various public agencies. They are all very impressive and rival similar projects anywhere on the mainland in Ireland. Cathy as Co-op Manager together with her deputy Geraldine and staff member Breda is responsible for all of them in terms of furthering community development on the island.

The waste recycling project set up by Timpealleacht na nOileán (now known as Athcursala Árann Teoranta) is one of the few national composting projects fully licensed by the Dept of Agriculture and Food under the EU Animal Byproducts Directive. Managed by Gerry Mullin who works for the Co-op recycling company, the depot is thus capable of recycling all of the catering waste from the restaurants on Inis Mór (there are similar facilities on Inis Meáin and Inis Oirr) in addition to the household food waste from the houses there. This would put many of our cities and towns in Ireland to shame where the 'brown waste bin' for food waste does not yet have the penetration levels that it should at this stage of our national development.

In Athcursála Arann recycling depot, Engineers Ireland visiting group
with Gerry Mullin Depot Manager

Cathy also showed us the Automatic Diesel Refuelling Depot, the Retirement Home and the Island Crèche. The use and storage of petrol on the island is forbidden under safety regulations so all cars on the island use only diesel - except for the 6 electric cars recently supplied to the islanders by SEAI and Electric Ireland as a pilot scheme to test the cars in the harsh Atlantic environment!

The very colourful two storey 6-roomed architect designed crèche would certainly be the envy of most childcare communities in Ireland. Also the new playground in Kilronan is the largest and most colourful amenity I've seen anywhere in Ireland in terms of size, design and sheer range of outdoor equipment to cater for all ages from 3 to 17 year olds.

In new Kilronan Community Playground at back Padraic O'Donoghue and Pat Nestor 

at front PJ Rudden and Cathy Ní Ghoill

From all of the above one might think that the population of the Aran Islands is growing quickly.  It's not unfortunately but it’s not falling either so there is every hope that all of these new amenities might encourage young families to stay. Aran is a unique national heritage and needs all of these supports to make life closer to the relative comforts of the mainland.

In new harbour car park with Kevin Finn Senior Marine Engineer Galway County Council

Even convincing the tourists who come to the prehistoric fort Dun Aonghusa to stay overnight can be difficult and yet there can be no tourism industry on Aran unless we regrow a new young vibrant community there.

View of Dun Aonghusa
Courtesy of www.galway.net

Great credit is due to former Minister Eamon O'Cuiv over the past 10 years who pushed and funded most of the infrastructure we saw, to Galway County Council and to Comharchumann Arann for their collective foresight to keep the Aran Islands alive.

Visit to Corrib Project in Mayo

The largest project currently under construction in Ireland is the Corrib Project in Mayo led by Shell E & P Ireland Ltd  (SEPIL) partnered also by Statoil and Vermillion - collectively called the Corrib Gas Partners.

This project at peak production will supply 60% of the nation's natural gas and overall will contribute €6billion to Ireland's GDP over its lifespan according to Goodbody Economic Consultants commissioned by Shell. Over the next three years the project will invest €400million in Mayo sustaining the equivalent of 382 full time jobs and 450 indirect jobs.

Overall Corrib Development Project

I was therefore very pleased to lead an Engineers Ireland visit to the site supported also by The Energy Institute, IBEC and Mayo County Council. The visit was kindly organised by our West Region chairman Professor Padraic O'Donoghue of NUIG and attended also by Engineers Ireland Director General John Power and Dept of Communications Energy and Natural Resources Chief Technical Adviser Bob Hanna.

Seated from left to right: Neil O'Carroll (MD of Conoco Philips), Chair of IBEC Energy Policy Committee; Prof Pádraic O'Donoghue (NUIG), Chairman of Western Regional Branch of EI; Brendan Butler, Corrib Deputy Project Director, Shell E&P Ireland Limited; PJ Rudden, President of Engineers Ireland; John Power, Director General, Engineers Ireland; Gerry Campbell, Corrib Project Director, Shell E&P Ireland Limited; Erik O'Donovan, IBEC; David Taylor, Chairman of the Energy Institute. Standing, from left: Brendan Mulligan (Údarás na Gaeltachta), Western Regional Branch of EI; Neil Walker, IBEC, Energy Policy Committee; Padraic Fogarty (Tobin Engineering), Western Branch of EI; Wolfgang Probst, Operations Manager, Shell E& P Ireland Limited; Pat McHale, Mayo County Council; Simon Stanton, Commercial Manager, Shell E&P Ireland Limited; Pat Downes, Director of Bord na Móna; Bob Hanna, Chief Technical Advisor, DCENR; Muredach Tuffy (Mayo County Council), Western Regional Branch of Engineers Ireland

The visit was hosted by Gerry Campbell SEPIL Project Director responsible for planning construction and commissioning of the project. Gerry was assisted by his colleagues Brendan Butler, Simon Stanton and Wolfgang Probst. We firstly visited Bellanaboy Gas Terminal and then the Aughoose Tunnelling Compound where construction is well advanced. The Terminal, Offshore Pipeline and subsea wells are complete; only the 8.3km long Onshore Pipeline now remains to be constructed. Approximately 4.9km of the Onshore Pipeline will be installed within a 4.2m diameter tunnel under Sruwaddacon Bay.  Tunnelling will start at Aughoose in late 2012 and it is expected that the tunnel will be completed in approximately 15 months. Tunnel Boring Machines (TBMs) are often named – the Corrib TBM is named Fionnuala after one of the Children of Lír - Sruwaddacon Bay features in this famous Irish legend. It is anticipated that the Corrib Onshore Pipeline will be completed by late 2014 when ‘First Gas’ will arrive onshore.

Broadhaven Bay leading into Sruwaddacon Bay on the right

It's been a long and difficult and indeed contentious project over the past 12 years. It is however very obvious to all visitors that there is a genuine commitment to complete the project to the highest safety standards and in partnership with the local community.

It will also be built fully in accordance with the requirements of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), An Bord Pleanála and the Commission for Energy Regulation (CER).

On both sites we visited, the high standard of safety was clear at every turn as the complexity of construction and operational features were explained to us by Shell personnel. The site has a fantastic safety record when one considers the level of activity in a relatively confined area.

We wish the project well to completion.

Visit to Donegal Region and Letterkenny IT

A week before the Annual Conference I visited the Donegal Region. There I met Region Chairman Rodney McDermott, Eleanor Diver Secretary and Michael Carr Treasurer together with Past Chairman William Diver. Eleanor kindly organised a very full day for me at Letterkenny IT starting with meeting President Paul Hannigan and Head of Development John Andy Bonar to discuss development potential in the region. I also met Denis McFadden Head of the School of Engineering, Dr Jim Morrison Head of Electrical and Electronic Engineering and Anne Bonar Head of Department of Civil Engineering and Construction.

LYIT Campus, Letterkenny

With President Paul Hannigan we discussed how LYIT could grow as a catalyst for future development of the region. The two main strengths which Donegal has is its tourism and its ocean resources - yes fishing as always but also its wind, wave and tidal power resources around the coast. LYIT already has a School of Tourism in Killybegs where the potential for further enterprise is being explored.

PJ Rudden President of Engineers Ireland with Paul Hannigan

President of Letterkenny Institute of Technology

I also met the Donegal County Manager Seamus Neely who too is ambitious for further development of the county in terms of the diversity of its resources and the talent of its people. Donegal County Council has also been central in implementation of the new EU Water Framework Directive in terms of national leadership and cross border development in river basin district (RBD) management and therefore has an important role to play with the new Irish Water utility. It seems to me that the better management of our water resources both on and offshore will be a key lever in our national recovery in terms of resource efficiency, new enterprise and jobs. I also met Donal Casey who is responsible for RBD plan development and implementation for the Council.

Group of students in LY IT with Anne Bonar Head of School
 of Civil Engineering and Construction, Eleanor Diver Lecturer in LYIT
and PJ Rudden President of Engineers Ireland

When in Letterkenny I visited the local RPS office under Director Donal Doyle. Donal together with senior staff Angela McGinley and Debbie Nesbitt joined a social evening in Letterkenny organised by the Donegal Region. There I was happy to meet former UCD classmate Peadar MacRory who is Senior Engineer with Donegal County Council on the construction of the new Letterkenny Wastewater Treatment Plant.

Dr Jim Morrison Head of the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering LYIT, 

Eleanor Diver Secretary of Donegal Region Engineers Ireland 

and PJ Rudden President of Engineers Ireland

As I left Donegal through the relatively new national primary roads to the south past Donegal town and Ballyshannon I was struck by how the new infrastructure has transformed access to and from Donegal. I was again struck too by the stunning beauty of Barnesmore Gap with its stormy streams of water shedding down the valley like torrents on both sides of the road.

Engineers Ireland President PJ Rudden with Rodney McDermott 

Chairman of Donegal Region and the Region Committee

Passing through County Fermanagh I could not miss the huge tourism offering that is now Lough Erne and the neatly maintained road side and farm hedges all the way to Aghalane Bridge in County Cavan. I stopped at the new bridge named after Senator George Mitchell which I had helped to build working as consultant to Cavan County Council in 1998. It was built on the back of the Good Friday Agreement signed earlier that year which the Senator had brokered in Belfast. I also met the Senator at the Bridge ceremony later that year where he spoke frankly on 'how the peace was made' that Good Friday night.

I walked south of the Border to the artistic feature that always summed up the new peace that came 'dropping slowly' as the arms were laid down on both sides and people returned to their families. The sculpture at the bridge sums it all up 'Peace for All - welcome home the war is over'. The sculpture shows the warrior with the broken sword being welcomed home by his loved one.

Peace sculpture at George Mitchell Bridge at Aghalane on Border

I was born and grew up a short distance from the border in County Cavan and will never forget the symbolism of that new bridge across the Border nor the sculpture that depicts the real story of Northern Ireland. It had a special resonance with me also as days later I headed to the Europa Hotel and City Hall in Belfast as President to open the Engineers Ireland Annual Conference on 'Engineering Enterprise in Times of Change'.

Remarkable Annual Conference ends in Belfast

A remarkable Annual Conference ended in Belfast on Friday last. To me it showed Engineers Ireland to be truly an all island organisation. In the Centenary Year of the Titanic Story in Belfast, the Cork, Thomond, Midlands, West, North West and Donegal Regions joined forces with the East Coast members and Clyde Road staff to support the tremendous efforts of our Northern Ireland colleagues in the Northern Region.

The Northern Region is very ably led this year by Peter Quinn who together with Fionnuala Kilbane our Marketing and Communications Director in Clyde Road organised the conference. The conference theme 'Engineering Enterprise in Times of Change' was apt in terms of our rebuilding a sustainable economic recovery.

Key Speakers were Alex Attwood NI Minister of the Environment, Bob Hanna Chief Adviser in Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Eddie O'Connor CEO Mainstream Renewables, Dermot Byrne CEO EirGrid, John Barry MD Bord Gáis Network and Tanya Hedley NI Electricity Regulator.

PJ Rudden President of Engineers Ireland and 

Alex Attwood MLA Minister of the Environment Northern Ireland

The Guest Speaker from abroad was Belfast native Dr Stephen Myers Director of CERN Laboratory in Geneva Switzerland. CERN is the European Research Body for Particle Physics. It was here that the World Wide Web (www) was invented by Tim Berners-Lee in 1989! CERN also had 5 Nobel Prizes in Physics between 1952 and 1992.

Day 1 of the Conference was a plenary session on Outlook on Policy - Developing and Harnessing Creativity and Enabling Ingenuity in the Public and Private Sectors. I gave the Keynote Address and chaired Day 1. Day 2 saw breakout sessions between Offshore Energy 2050 and Manufacturing chaired by Peter Quinn Northern Region Chairman and Declan Lyons Mechanical Division Chairman respectively.

Graphic from Titanic Signature Building showing the old Harland and Wolff Shipyard 

which is now the Titanic Quarter development

At the close of day we also got a tour of the Titanic Signature Building which is the iconic new Visitor Centre opened on March 30th and already drawing 80,000 visitors in the first month! It's really a day event for the family so I could not describe it adequately here as I did not see it adequately in the hour and a half I spent there! You gotta go and see it yourself as it’s the most professional and interesting audio visual extravaganza I've ever seen. It depicts not only the Titanic Story but the social political and economic circumstances in Belfast in the early decades of the 20th century.

The signing of the Ulster Government against Home Rule by Edward Carson in 1912

The main preoccupation in Belfast in 1912 was not the launching of the Titanic on its maiden voyage but the threat of Home Rule and the sense of betrayal of Ulster by the London Government under Asquith. You are brought on a whirlwind of carted tours through the six floors of the building to see the manufacture of ships and the lives of the people who made them even down to the red hot rivets installed by mallet sometimes under candlelight. The external cladding on the building is more than an architectural masterpiece - the zigzag aluminium cladding is dramatic to view on the outside!

Engineers Ireland delegates entering the Titanic Signature Building

The speech of Environment Minister Attwood was most sincere and interesting where he played to the strengths of Northern Ireland and the need to maximise our onshore and offshore renewable resources. Conscious of the planning difficulties which he has seen on onshore wind projects he sees huge prospects in connecting up our offshore wind wave and tidal resources which are the best in Europe.

Belfast City Hall is a beautiful building outside and even more so inside where we were entertained by the Belfast Community Gospel Choir in a truly iconic setting.

Delegates at City Hall appreciating the Belfast Community Gospel Choir

The Offshore Energy and Manufacturing break out sessions on Day 2 were very interesting. I went to the Energy session where Dr Eddie O'Connor outlined the urgency of moving to a low carbon energy infrastructure for cost as well as environmental reasons. He foresaw all cars on the road in 2050 will be electric cars as he said 'we will have no choice by then'. Dermot Byrne of EirGrid Bob Hanna of Dept of Energy and Tanya Hedley the NI Electricity Regulator all described the energy challenges confronting us in a forthright way and the policies and measures now being put in place to meet these challenges for future generations.

Rita Pollard Engineers Ireland Communications Executive adjusting the President’s chain 

watched by Shirley McDonald Membership Growth Manager

I brought the conference proceedings to a close by reminding our audience that the challenges that confront us require us to make a distinct 'step change' in our thinking. 'The significant problems that we face cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them' said Einstein. Certainly that is very true of the energy challenge where we have to engineer a new technical regulatory and economic world to give us a more secure future.

Finished model of the Titanic Quarter 

I will never forget my few days in Belfast in April 2012 when we sampled history but we also gazed into the future and what new world we engineers have to create to ensure the safe survival and well being of those who come after us.