Infrastructure: Priorities for 2011-2015
Monday, October 10th, 2011Three years after ISNI2 was published, agendaNi examines the key infrastructure projects likely to be taken forward by the current Executive. An updated Infrastructure Strategy for Northern Ireland (ISNI3) has been drafted and approved by ministerial special advisers. However, until the Programme for Government is released it is unclear which infrastructure projects will get the green light. ISNI2 was released in 2008 and outlined infrastructure spending from 2008 to 2018. ISNI3 is required because of the economic downturn and budget cuts and will cover infrastructure spending over the...[full story]
Infrastructure: Cost-effective delivery
Monday, October 10th, 2011The Irish Academy of Engineering has proposed how to achieved more value for money in infrastructural investment. ‘The Cost-Effective Delivery of Essential Infrastructure’ was published in June by a taskforce of engineers from across Ireland, organised by the Irish Academy of Engineering. It follows on from the report on infrastructure for an island population of 8 million (estimated for 2030), published by the academy and Engineers Ireland in 2030. Despite the “extreme pressures” on public finances (north and south), “sustained investment” in critical infrastructure is needed...[full story]
Infrastructure: Transforming Lisanelly
Monday, October 10th, 2011An overview of Northern Ireland’s largest school building project. Supporters of the Lisanelly shared educational campus see it as a ‘swords to ploughshares’ project and a once-in-a- lifetime opportunity for Omagh. The rationale for the £100 million scheme is based on the need to replace or substantially renovate schools in the town, its relatively good community relations, and the availability of the former military base. That area has been vacant since 2007 and was gifted to the Executive through last year’s Hillsborough Castle Agreement. The total site is 139 acres: 118 at...[full story]
Housing: Better spaces for Belfast
Wednesday, June 8th, 2011Thinking outside the box can save the city’s remaining terraces and regenerate its wasted open spaces, architect Mark Hackett tells Peter Cheney. Belfast’s original streets are disappearing and will soon be gone for good unless urgent action is taken, according to Mark Hackett. “I think we have very little time to save what is unique about Belfast’s spaces,” the architect states. Most of the old Victorian terraces and mill buildings have been knocked down, taking with them much of the city’s character. Some of the best remaining examples can be found in the Village and the...[full story]
Energy: A Northern Ireland energy model
Friday, April 15th, 2011Richard Tol discusses the Northern Ireland Energy Model (NiEMO) with Peter Cheney and the need for better data on the province’s energy use. Northern Ireland’s first energy model will be published shortly, following on from research by a team led by Richard Tol, a research professor at the Economic and Social Research Institute in Dublin. Tol, who also works at Trinity College Dublin and Amsterdam’s Vrije Universiteit, outlined the main identified trends to an agendaNi seminar on energy infrastructure in March. The research was funded by the Strategic Investment Board. Final energy...[full story]
Energy: Euro interconnection – John Constable
Friday, April 15th, 2011Electricity interconnection is not a solution to wind capacity but a tool to strengthen trading positions, the Renewable Energy Foundation’s John Constable tells Meadhbh Monahan. While it is generally accepted that interconnectors allow more renewable energy (mostly from wind generation) to be connected to the electricity networks; John Constable argues that local wind power management strategies are also needed. “Nobody should fool themselves into thinking that interconnection is a solution,” he tells agendaNi. “It’s a neutral channel through which one market reaches out to...[full story]
ICT: A class act – St Pius X College
Friday, April 15th, 2011St Pius X College in Magherafelt has been praised for its award-winning ICT initiatives. Emma Blee finds out how these have helped improve learning from principal Mary White. Video conferencing and up-to-date technology “has to be the future” for teaching, says St Pius X principal Mary White. The college, which has 908 pupils and 65 teaching staff, was commended for its “infectious enthusiasm” by judges who presented it with the Becta ICT Excellence Award 2010. Following a refurbishment in 2000, the school has honed in on the opportunity to develop modern IT facilities, including...[full story]
ICT: Public data corporation delay
Friday, April 15th, 2011The one-stop shop for the UK’s government data is delayed, as the pros, cons and costs are weighed up. Government data from across the UK public sector are to be available in one place later this year, if a public data corporation gets the go ahead. The organisation was to be launched in April but ministers and officials are still discussing its purpose. Intellectual property and data protection are reserved matters, with Westminster setting policy for the whole UK. The March Budget states that the UK Government is “considering the merits of machinery of government changes to facilitate...[full story]
ICT: Making learning glow – Andrew Brown
Friday, April 15th, 2011Glow has helped expand the horizons of teachers, parents and pupils in Scotland but there are still some improvements to be made, Programme Director Andrew Brown tells Emma Blee. “The technology is often there but there’s no access to the services,” explains Learning and Teaching Scotland’s (LTS) Andrew Brown. He argues that while schools throughout the country have had webcams and other IT equipment for years, many couldn’t actually use it until 2007. “Although the computer in the classroom might have the equipment, they didn’t have the service that they could use with...[full story]
North/South: Mixed progress
Friday, April 15th, 2011Building cross-border roads and drawing down EU funding have been two of the North/South Ministerial Council’s recent successes. But progress on parliamentary and consultative forums has been much slower. Meadhbh Monahan reports. Established under the Good Friday Agreement, the North/South Ministerial Council (NSMC) is the “lead institution” in developing North/South co-operation and bringing together Ministers from Northern Ireland and the Republic. Since the Agreement was signed on 10 April 1998, the NSMC has held 11 plenary meetings, which are led by the First and deputy First...[full story]
