Louth allocated over €6.1m towards LEADER programme

Senator Mary Moran welcomed the funding

Louth has been allocated over €6.1m for the LEADER element of the Rural Development Programme.

Overall, €250 million nationally and €6,101,862.01 in Louth, will be allocated towards LEADER to support economic development in rural communities and to specifically target the important issue of rural isolation.

The Leader programme focuses on local economic recovery through community-led projects.

Local action groups will be invited to submit ideas for how the funding should be spent, once the European Commission has approved the programme.

The funding was welcomed by local Senator Mary Moran, who said: “’Rural communities across the country face many challenges and we must ensure we continue to provide opportunities, support and resources to meet these challenges at a local level.

“I welcome the allocation of €6.1 million in funding to deliver LEADER and I look forward to the positive affect this will have in local communities across Louth particularly in dealing with rural isolation and bolstering social inclusion.

“An expression of interests process is expected to begin shortly,” she said.

Kirk calls on Ireland to challenge decision to grant State Aid to new British power plant

Seamus Kirk TD

Local Fianna Fáil TD Seamus Kirk has called for Ireland to challenge the decision by the European Commission to formally grant State Aid approval to Britain to build a new nuclear power plant in Somerset beside the Irish Sea.

Deputy Kirk said: “Ireland is already at unacceptable risk from the Sellafield power plant and today’s decision by the European Commission is very worrying.

“The European Commission has cleared the way for the British government to give 35 years of financial aid to the nuclear power station planned for Hinckley, only 240km from Ireland.

“Fianna Fáil believes this is a major distortion of competition rules and will result in huge State financial support going to the nuclear industry. Ireland can move to challenge this decision by bringing a case to the European Court of First Instance challenging the decision of the European Commission to permit such State Aid. Since planning permission has already been granted for this nuclear power station, a challenge to the European Court on the grounds of State Aid is the only viable means of trying to block this nuclear plant that will threaten Ireland’s future.

“We need to hear a very clear response from the Government on this issue. Did the Taoiseach make any representations with British Prime Minister David Cameron prior to this ruling and what approach will the Government take now to protect Ireland’s interests?”

Broadband speeds of up to 1,000mbps on the way to Dundalk thanks to ESB and Vodafone venture

ESB and Vodafone today announced a new joint venture which will see them invest €450m in building a 100% fibre broadband network across Ireland.

The new network will offer speeds of 200mpbs to 1,000mpbs, propelling Ireland into the ranks of the world’s fastest broadband countries.

Dundalk and Drogheda are amongst 50 towns set to benefit from the new roll out first of all, with 500,000 premises across the country set to benefit initially.

Roll-out is expected to take place in the coming months subject to European Commission approval, with the first customers set to avail of the new high speeds from the start of next year.

The fibre will be deployed on ESB’s existing overhead and underground infrastructure, ensuring a fast and cost efficient roll-out to every county in Ireland and reversing the digital divide between the capital and regional towns.

Unfortunately it won’t be available in towns with less than 4,000 premises so rural areas are unlikely to benefit.

At the launch it was revealed that 43% of broadband in Ireland today has speeds of less than 10mbps. At present the fastest broadband available in Dundalk is Eircom’s efibre, which only operates at “up to” 100mpbs – something few actually ever experience.

Prometric has prestigious EU contract renewed

Prometric’s Dundalk office

Prometric, which has a global hub in Dundalk, has secured a new four-year contract with the European Personnel Selection Office (EPSO) to deliver computer and internet based testing and assessment systems to support the European Union’s staff selection examination process. The services are to be provided under three separate lots.

Up to 170,000 computer-based exams are expected to be delivered annually through to 2017.

Prometric has been providing the testing services to the EPSO since 2005 and this is the second four-year contract renewal. The company has helped the EPSO to introduce competency-based assessment in all the EU’s 24 languages.

“Over the course of our relationship with Prometric, EPSO has administered more than 500,000 CBT pre-selection exams,” said David Bearfield, director for the European Personnel Selection Office.  “Our shared commitment is to ensure that the best qualified candidates are selected for a job opportunity in the European Union.”

Under the new agreement, Prometric will continue to support EPSO in evolving the EU’s staff selection processes for employment positions in the institutions of the European Union.

“Prometric recognises that EPSO is charged with an immense responsibility to validate individuals as qualified for performing highly skilled jobs as representatives of the European Union,” said Michael Brannick, president and CEO, Prometric.  “Our investments in testing infrastructure and content, and security and global candidate care, keep us focused on delivering the right test to the right candidates at the right time and place.”

EPSO is responsible for selecting staff to work for the institutions and agencies of the European Union including the European Parliament, the Council of the European Union, the European Commission, the Court of Justice, the Court of Auditors, the European External Action Service, the Economic and Social Committee, the Committee of the Regions, the European Data Protection Supervisor and the European Ombudsman.  Each institution is then able to recruit staff from a pool of candidates selected by EPSO.

In 2012, Prometric established a new global operations centre in Dundalk, which provides a gateway and base to support the business in more than 160 countries and across different time zones.  Today, Prometric employs more than 140 people in Ireland between Dundalk and Dublin, and test sites throughout the country. According to the company, its Irish operation was instrumental in securing this latest contract with EPSO.

Dundalk IT project named as one of the best in Europe

Joan Martin of Louth County Council receives the three-star reference site award from EU vice-president Neelie Kroes

An initiative spearheaded in Louth by two Dundalk Institute of Technology research centres has been named as one of the top projects in Europe at an EU awards ceremony for active and healthy ageing practices.

The DKIT-based Netwell and Casala research centres are working alongside University College Cork and others in what is called the Collaboration on Ageing (Collage).

Collage was among 32 initiatives to be named as a ‘reference site’ by the European Commission – but one of only 13 to receive the top three-star status.

EU Commission vice-president Neelie Kroes described the awards as the “Oscars of innovation for ageing” and stressed that Collage and the other recipient projects were paving the way for a healthier and age-friendly society.

“Our regional activities in Louth have established a global reputation for leading new ways in service delivery and collaborations on the ground providing innovative services for older people,” said Rodd Bond, director of the Netwell Centre.

“Working alongside our partners in Collage, we aim to play our part in the EU’s aims to increase the average healthy lifespan of Europeans by two years by 2020.

“The emphasis now is on scaling up the projects and applying them throughout Europe. This will mean providing professional advice to EU member states and regions for the design of their innovation strategies for smart specialisation and enhancing local ability to access Horizon 2020, Europe’s €70bn flagship research and development programme for 2014–2020.”