MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIRMAN (NOVEMBER 2007)

At the outset I would like to take this opportunity to express a sincere thank you to the outgoing Chairman, Declan Monaghan; Hon. Secretary, Peter Finnegan; Hon. Treasurer, John Dunny, and the other members of the committee, for their very professional management and organisation of the Branch over the past two years. They organised and ran several very successful events during their tenure, culminating in a recent seminar, “Deep Basements,” that attracted close to 100 people. Most of the events were held in the capital city but two very well attended evening lectures were held in Cork. It is my intention to continue the trend of holding some lectures and seminars outside of Dublin, not only in Cork, but also in other regions. To this end I would welcome suggestions from members as regards topics and locations.

Our candidates have once again performed very well in the Institution Examinations - my sincerest congratulations to all. The Branch continues to have one of the highest pass rates of all Institution Branches. I would ask members to continue to encourage graduates to take the Membership Examinations.

Our third level institutes continue to produce very well qualified civil and structural engineering graduates. There have been some innovative developments in some of these institutes as, for example, the architectural/structural engineering degree in UCD. It is also important to note that a four year dedicated BEng (Honours) Structural engineer degree at CIT has received full accreditation from IStructE.

We have seen an unprecedented boom in the Construction Industry here in Ireland over approximately the past 10 years. Naturally this has resulted in exceptional employment prospects for our members. Not only were there plenty of job opportunities but also the complexity, quality and time scale of projects placed great demands on our members. I am happy to say that we rose to the challenge and that many of our projects will be a lasting tribute to the profession. We now appear to be entering more subdued times but I am confident that the demand for the professional services of our members will continue – in fact there is worldwide shortage of professionally qualified Structural engineers. Here at home we must continue to improve our physical infrastructure and I earnestly hope that the Government will press forward with Transport 21. Not to do so would be a major retrograde step, both socially and economically. As never before we have the engineering expertise here at home to design and construct the most complex, economical and aesthetic structures. It is paramount that we convince the Government to make use of this expertise and to press forward with the plans proposed prior to the general election.

I should also like to refer to the matter of Safety. In 2006 there were 12 fatalities in the Construction Industry with a further 13 to date in 2007. Considering the numbers working there compared to the numbers using our roads, this makes the area a rather unsafe one indeed. There are very good criteria laid down for the industry and the construction firms adhering to these have excellent safety records. Regretfully there are some who place a low priority on safety and in many cases turn a blind eye to the regulations. The Branch is naturally very concerned with safety and the protection of its members. Accordingly we are presenting a lecture on the topic on 20^th November in DIT, Bolton Street and we have plans to hold a seminar some time later.

Members will be aware that the Institution was founded in 1908 - as the Concrete Institute - and will thus be celebrating its Centenary this coming year. The Institution received its Royal Charter in 1934 and now has over 20 000 members worldwide, located in over 100 countries - the Republic of Ireland Branch has some 700 members (some of whom are students). The Institution continues to promote excellence in the field of structural engineering and the Centenary provides us with a special opportunity to highlight the technical and professional competence of our members. The ROI Branch is preparing a special publication to mark the Centenary. One of the most important Centenary events is the Centenary Conference, “Turning ideas into reality,” which will be held in Hong Kong from 24 to 26 January 2008. The Branch encourages its members to attend and details are available from members of the committee (listed hereunder).

In this our Centenary Year, the Institution will have its first ever female President, Sarah Buck. Hopefully the election of Sarah to the highest honour in our profession will be an incentive for more girls to enter this very exciting and rewarding profession. Sarah, together with our Chief Executive, Dr Keith Eaton, will attend the Annual Dinner of the Branch, which will be held in the Herbert Park Hotel, Ballsbridge, on Friday 9^th November. I strongly encourage members and friends to attend this very convivial event. This year’s guest speaker will be Mr Fred Barry, Chief Executive of the National Roads Authority.

In conclusion, I would ask members to support our schedule of events, involving lectures, seminars, etc. The Branch gives significant thought to its events and they are organised for your benefit. In an ever demanding and ever changing profession it is vital that we are up to date in our knowledge. Accordingly the Branch would ask all members to maintain their professional competence through Continued Professional Development.

                                                                         Martin P Mannion, Chairman