Obtuse Angle

PAT LEHANE PAT LEHANE PAT LEHANE

Happy ever after …

Congratulations to Jim Weldon, Director, Tech Refrigeration and his partner, Sinead Murphy, who celebrated their nuptuals recently.

Here’s wishing you both a very long, happy and healthy life together.

Evidence-based info

With yet moreincentives announced by Government to tackle the current spate of new challenges facing the country, it’s important that we know of the success, or otherwise, of incentives already in place to drive the net zero objective. Evidence-based data – giving total numbers that have availed of home energy upgrade grants to date – would be highly informative.

Such an honest appraisal of progress to date will clarify what works well and, at the same time, help identify and address what does not.

Plotting a way forward in the face of massive uncertainty is a daunting task for policy- makers. That’s why they should now engage openly – and more frequently – with those at the coalface.

James covets that trophy

Commiserations to James Porter.Despite all the hard work he did at the recent CIBSE Ireland golf outing – managing the registration and then checking the cards at the end – this is the closest the poor man got to getting his hands on the trophy.

That happy smile on his face? … I wonder what was in the trophy, despite the decoy pint of water beside it?

Another happy ever after story

Congratulations also to Conor and Sarah Boylan on their recent marriage.

This was an all-industry occasion as Conor is Technical Specification Manager with Lindab, while Sarah (née Callaghan) is Senior Building Services Engineer, Kerrigan Mechanical. She is also Secretary of CIBSE Ireland.

Again, best wishes to you both.

Varming AECI award

Varming Consulting Engineers won the Mechanical & Electrical (small) category at the recent ACEI Design Excellence Awards for the Donegal Garda Station refurbishment and extension project. Limited site space was overcome by the use of air source heat pump technology to allow the building to achieve its high specifi cation energy ratings of nZEB and BER A3.

Left: At the presentation were Trevor James, Rhatigan Architects with Declan Holmes, OPW and Sean Neary, Director, Varming Consulting Engineers.

Too many cooks …

Seán Kelly, MEPfor Ireland South and EPP Rapporteur for the EU’s revision of the EPBD, has called for a dedicated Energy Minister and the creation of “a higher sense of urgency” to fortify the country’s energy security. Sean does great work but, in this instance, I suggest “too many cooks” et al.

He is spot on in referencing use of the Inishkea gas field and the need to inject more pragmatism into our energy policy, at least in the short- to medium- term. The sense of urgency is palpable, it’s how we manage it is the issue.