Audio version

18

Aug/Sept 2010 www.esb.ie/em

ESB NETWORKS LTD

Mark Rohan wins silver at Paracycling World Cup

Mark Rohan, who is part of the team at ESB Networks, Osprey House, took up hand cycling less than 12 months ago. Since then, he has competed for Ireland at International level and hopes to qualify for the para-olympics in London in 2012. Mark and his colleagues did well at the recent Paracycling World Cup in Spain.

(l-r): Mark Rohan, Ireland (Silver Medal), Wolfgang Schattauer, Austria (Gold medal) and Robert Labbe, Canada (Bronze medal).

Ted Tierney and Noel McDonagh Awards 2009

THE presentation of the Ted Tierney and Noel McDonagh awards took place in the Riverside Hotel in Enniscorthy recently.

Tom O’Sullivan, Enniscorthy Area, was the recipient of the Ted Tierney award for customer service and Apprentice Enda Wickham was the recipient of the Noel McDonagh award for Excellence in apprentice training.

The awards were presented by Ted Tierney, son of the late Ted and Fiach McDonagh, Brother of the late Noel.

These awards are held annually to commemorate Ted and Noel who both died tragically while working.

Ted and Noel contributed a great deal of time to ESB and also to the communities in which they lived and worked. Their tragic and untimely passings were not only devastating for their families but a sad loss to all who worked and socialised with them.

The nominations for the awards are submitted each year by members of ESB staff for colleagues whom they believe are worthy of receiving these awards.

Tom O’Sullivan receiving the Ted Tierney award from Ted Tierney, Jnr.

Enda Wickham receiving the Noel McDonagh award from Fiach McDonagh, brother of the late Noel.

A programme to tackle climate change

Patrick McCartan is an Energy Management Student at DIT. He delivered a paper on The Responsibility of the Global Electricity Industry to ensure a World-Class Transmission Network across all Nations & Continents at the recent Eurelectric Conference held in Dublin. Patrick is pictured with the award he received for the paper at the conference.

Keep Safe Programme

SINCE 2008, ESB Networks has participated in the ‘Keep Safe Programme’ for national schools organised by the Health and Safety Authority.

ESB Networks continues to support this initiative and in 2010 a number of events took place in ESB SPORTSCO Dublin, Institute of Art, Design and Technology (IADT) Dun Laoghaire and Fermoy, Co. Cork.

The programme involves national agencies and regional/local organisations being available to interact with national school children from schools in each location. In addition to ESB Networks, the following organisations are involved, IFA – farm safety, An Gárda Siochána – road safety, CIF, Civil Defence, Bus Eireann, the Ambulance Service, HSA and local organisations.

Each agency or organisation, with a safety message, comes together to talk to fifth and sixth class primary school children with a common safety message: ‘Keep Safe‘. This message is delivered through a series of interactive scenarios with a strong safety theme lasting 10 minutes to groups of eight/10 children on a series of safety issues such as electricity, road, water and coastal safety, farm safety, travelling safely, mountain rescue, fire safety, and personal safety and aims to help children to:

• Become aware of personal and home safety.
• Learn how to react to dangerous situations.
• Learn how to recognise hazards and manage risks.
• Foster good citizenship.
• Learn how to stay safe within the context of for example: road safety, water safety, fire safety, site safety and farm safety.

The ‘Keep Safe’ programme is to raise awareness of safety issues in the community by targeting children at a developmental stage who are old enough to take the message back to their homes and schools. Keep Safe sits perfectly with ESB Network's Public Safety Plan 2010 and has an immediate linkage to Social, Personal and Health Education (SPHE) of the primary school curriculum.

As part of the presentation ESB Network's staff educate the children through discussion and safety posters and highlight the dangers of electricity in the home and on the farm with targeted safety posters while stressing the need for children to play safe always. Dangers highlighted included: flying kites near overhead lines, following a football into a sub station, climbing trees near overhead lines, climbing pylons and approaching fallen wires. Roughly half of the time allocated was spent fielding questions from the children and this interaction was very worthwhile.

Posters promoting the Keep Safe programme

They are also directed to ESB Networks internet game ‘AMPVILLE’ where they could learn more about the danger of electricity. All the children who attended each event very responsive and much of the presenters’ time was spent answering questions.

All involved were delighted with the enthusiasm of the children and highlights the importance of such events.

The Fermoy presentation was supported by local management Jim Hernan Area Manager, Colm Murphy Customer Services Supervisor, John Courtney Construction Supervisor and staff. The presenters were Ryan Murphy, the local Safety Rep and PJ Reamsbottom, STSS Networks Projects South.

Ryan Murphy Network Technician Fermoy Institute of Art, Design and Technology (IADT) Dun Laoghaire.

Matt Davis STSS CS Dublin South.

Matt Davis and Martin O Halloran.

Walk to School

Energy International, page 21