Civil Engineering Contractors Annual Dinner

Last Friday night I was invited as a guest to the Annual Dinner of the Civil Engineering Contractors Association by their President Charles Wills and CIF Director Don O'Sullivan.

There was a very respectable turnout considering the extent to which this particular industry has been impacted by the recession. In his Address Charles Wills talked of their past achievements in the building of national infrastructure in Roads Water and Energy and of their hopes for early economic recovery to enable their members to continue building up our Infrastructure.

'We won't be safe unless we can count on our infrastructure' US President Barack Obama has said.

I think our own Government realise this too as there is talk of reinvesting some of the proceeds of the partial sale of semi-state companies into productive investment in infrastructure which will be very welcome if realised.

Engineers Ireland emphasised the importance of infrastructure in Transport Water Energy Waste and Communications in our State of Ireland Infrastructure Report of last May.

I am also in the course of visiting selected infrastructure projects around the regions to further underpin our ambitions to again ramp up infrastructure spending and to support balanced regional development and job creation.

Pictured (from Left to Right) at the Civil Engineering Contractors Association (CECA) Dinner, with Tom Parlon Director General CIF,
Charles Wills President CECA, Matt Gallagher President CIF, PJ Rudden President Engineers Ireland and
Don O'Sullivan Secretary CECA and Director of CIF.