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NEWS
August/September 2012 www.esb.ie/em
ESB GAA All-Ireland – Football 7s
Venue: Pairc Ui Chiarain, Athlone Saturday, September 15th 2012
Mens’ 2011 Winners – Dundalk
Mens’ Runners Up – NIE Operations
Also
Ladies’ Football Competition 2011 Winners - ESBI
Entry Fee €400 per Panel
Team Entries (Panel of 10 players + 2 mentors max.)
to be e-mailed or posted
To:
Colum Grogan - Room 301, 40 Merrion Square, Tel. HO Extn. 27486
Trish McElvaney – DGC HO – Tel. Extn. 25484
John O’Riordan - ICT Group Head Office Tel. Extn. 27557
Deirdre Feeney - D2C HO – Tel. Extn. 26862
Hugh Connaughton - Room 519 Clanwilliam Tel. Extn. 27146
Closing date for Panel Entries is Friday, 24th August 2012
Competition commences at 11.30am and Final fixed for 5.30pm
Presentation Dinner takes place in the Shamrock Lodge Hotel & Country Club, Athlone at 7.30pm approx. followed by Ceol agus Craic.
Appreciation
St Patrick’s Credit Union lost a much loved and valued member of staff recently with Valerie Hand’s untimely death on Friday June 8th. Valerie joined the Credit Union in 2001 and over the years her hard work and cheerful disposition was appreciated by her work colleagues, directors, supervisors, agents and, most importantly, the Credit Union’s members, one of which had these words to say, “Val was like a ray of sunshine - always cheerful and most helpful.
She went over and above expectations to ensure the member was satisfied with the outcome of their enquiry.”
Valerie will be sorely missed by the members, directors, supervisors, agents and staff of the credit union and we express our sincere condolences to her family and friends.
May she rest in peace.
Board of Directors, St Patrick’s Credit Union (ESB Staff).
Appreciation
It was with great shock that we heard of the sudden death of Denis O’Brien. I had been at his home two weeks previously and he was in good fettle. His main concern was for his wife, Phil, who, unfortunately, has been in a nursing home for the past few years and Denis visited her every day. Denis was looking forward to the racing season and, needless to say, had various solutions for the states current economic woes.
When one thinks of Denis O’Brien two words spring to mind immediately: honesty and integrity. Not everyone subscribed to his views on the various issues of life and economics, but you knew they were his honestly held opinions.
Denis belonged to the old school of conservative thinking. In his early years as a ‘Grade 8 Clerk, he would have been one of the very few of that breed that bought The Financial Times.
Denis commenced his working career with the Dublin Port and Docks Board but didn’t take too long to discover the greener pastures of ESB. He joined the company in 1948 initially working in Revenue, Head Office, and then with the old Dublin 2 District in Consumers and later in Sales. He then moved to main bank section in Head Office Accounts where he subsequently became Section Head and eventually retired from ESB in 1995 having gone the full distance.
Denis was married to Phil and they have two children, Michael and Freida.
Denis had many interests in life. He loved going racing in the Phoenix Park and Leopardstown and if you could get your hands on his diaries you would find a complete record of every penny wagered and won. He was very fond of sailing and had a berth for his boat at Clontarf where he enjoyed a game of snooker in the club house after his escapades at sea. He also swam the Liffey Swim on many occasions.
Denis was a founder director of St Patrick’s Credit Union, was a President and served on its board from 1962 to 1998. His conservative approach to life had a steadying influence on the Credit Union particularly in its formative years and that influence continued throughout his 36 years of voluntary service on behalf of his fellow ESB employees. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam dílis Sean Malone
THE PRESIDENCY SEMINARS 2011-2018 ‘BEING YOUNG AND IRISH’
AN INVITATION FROM President Michael D. Higgins was extended to four young people from ESB to recognise and honour citizens of Ireland for their special contribution to society. President Higgins’ Young and Irish Initiative central goal is to engage young people as active reflective citizens in contemporary Ireland and to endorse them as one if the sources of wisdom in solving core social, political, economic and cultural issues confronting Ireland.
On the afternoon of Tuesday 3rd July, President Higgins hosted a ‘Being Young and Irish’ garden party as part of his first Presidency Seminar, for young people to celebrate their contribution in building a creative, inclusive society.
After the meet and greet, guests were invited to the dining room for refreshments where they were entertained by magicians and young musicians. During his speech he urged young people to use technology to better society. Speaking to the 300 strong crowd of people from throughout the country, President Higgins said, “I’m renewing my invitation to take the opportunity of shaping this country’s future. We need young people to provide their vision with us and help us build a real republic that provides opportunities, hope and respect”.
ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY
OUR USE OF TECHNOLOGY for both our work and personal lives has increased greatly over the last decade. Through a series of articles in EM, the Equality and Diversity Office aims to increase awareness of the availability and benefits of assistive technology for people with disabilities. Bernie O’Connor, of the E&D Office, recently linked up with Enable Ireland’s National Assistive Technology Training Service Manager, Siobhan Long, who was delighted to talk to us about the benefits of assistive technology, particularly in the workplace.
Ipads, Smart Phones, Laptops, PCs and more.
Texting, Email, Browsing, Online Forums/Banking/Shopping, Facebook, Boards.ie Twitter, etc…
Assistive technology in the workplace: A tool for everyone
“For many of us, using computers, tablet PCs and smart phones has become an integral feature of our working lives. These technologies have transformed the way we work and the kinds of work we can do on the move. Whether it is responding to e-mails while out of the office or collaborating on documents with colleagues back at the office, mobile IT solutions are a crucial factor in allowing us to maintain and increase our effectiveness.
Such technologies bring massive benefits, but they also pose certain challenges for employees. Work related injuries such as repetitive strain injury (RSI) can have a devastating impact on an individual’s ability to do his/her job. RSI is a condition caused by cumulative damage to muscles, tendons, ligaments, nerves, or joints (hand, wrist, arm, shoulder), from highly repetitive movements, and it is characterised chiefly by pain, weakness, and/or loss of feeling.
A 2011 survey carried out by IrishJobs.ie and Enable Ireland, Are you sitting comfortably?, found that 45% of employees experience RSI or RSI-related pain, and one in five of these employees have had to take time off work as a result of RSI. Over two-thirds of these employees had never heard of assistive technology (AT), yet AT can offer real and practical solutions to enable people to continue to work effectively, or return to work.
Assistive technology encompasses a vast range of solutions, from on screen keyboards and alternative mice to touch screen technology, screen readers and voice recognition software. Now that smart phones have voice activated capability, we have become accustomed to the idea of speaking to our technology, as opposed to controlling it via a keyboard and mouse. Corporate IT companies have long championed the use of alternative access solutions with MicroSoft, for example, developing their Ease of Access Centre (for more details, check out www.microsoft.com/enable, where you’ll find a rich resource filled with free builtin accessibility features, and video tutorials to get you started). IT companies such as Microsoft and Apple have also highlighted the fact that future technologies will see us dispensing with our keyboard and mouse in favour of touch screens and voice control.
Enable Ireland’s experience has taught us that no discomfort or impairment should be ignored, because its impact on an individual’s ability to do the job can be immense. Recent success stories include that of a freelance journalist who found that Dragon Naturally Speaking Voice Recognition Software was the ideal alternative to her intensive use of a keyboard: maintaining her productivity while eliminating the pain and discomfort she had reported when using a keyboard and mouse. Another successful outcome for an employee who had a dramatic reduction in his vision as a result of an accident was delighted to find that Zoomtext magnification software allowed him to continue in his current role, without any loss of productivity, confidence, or promotional prospects.
For more information on work-related AT solutions, check out our Assistive Technology Guide for Employers and Employees: www.enableireland.ie/corporate/assistive-technology-workplace
Please remember that Workstation/VDU Risk Assessments provide an opportunity to discuss any issues you may have with you team leader/manager and explore with them the possibility of the use of assistive technology should you require it.”
If you have any queries on any of the above, please contact the Equality & Diversity Office : Bernie O Connor - 01 – 7027239, Niall O’Hanlon, Access Officer - 01 - 7027870 or email Equality_Diversity@esb.ie
Sustainability Bi-Monthly Award Winner
Mary Flanagan, ESBI – Cork.
Mary wins the August / September bi-monthly award for her championing of sustainability in the ESBI offices in Cork. Her work in changing the switching arrangements for the air conditioning units has resulted in a significant reduction in energy consumption at this location. Making improvements in our building energy management practices is making a significant contribution to our target of a 30% reduction of our company carbon-footprint by the end of this year.
Mary was also involved in co-ordinating the transition from the use of energy inefficient plastic cups for drinking water. Separately, education and engagement about the importance of effective waste management means that the office is regularly achieving a recycling rate of 90%.
Speaking after the award was announced, John Campion said that Mary Flanagan’s work was an illustration of the impact that one individual could have in improving the performance of an entire team, saying “Sustainable innovation isn’t just about the big ticket items, in order to really engage people, we need to focus on our own behaviour also. Mary’s work makes it easier for her colleagues to do the right thing, and I would like to thank her, and the many others throughout the organisation like her, for their continuing efforts. They can be proud of the difference we are making and I am delighted to be able to acknowledge and celebrate this success.
