Minister Alan Kelly TD is expected to give an update on the review of the building regulations to delegates at this year’s Engineers Ireland Annual Conference. Water infrastructure and the impact of the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Bill 2015 are also likely to be included in his keynote address to Ireland’s engineers who will gather in The Malton, Killarney on Thursday 14 and Friday 15 May this year. The recent review of the building regulations ordered by Minister Kelly is set to close on 15 May. Engineers Ireland has been part of the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government’s review group, which agreed the amendments to the Building Control Act and the organisation is committed to maintaining high standards within the construction industry. As well as the minister’s keynote address on the subject, a technical update on the building regulations one year on from their implementation will be provided by Cormac Bradley, chartered engineer, who is a recognised expert on the issue and who represented Engineers Ireland during the original revision process of the legislation. Mairéad Phelan, project manager at the Local Government Management Agency with responsibility for the developing the compliance system, will also present.

Energy – renewables and fossil fuels

The new climate change bill progressing through the Oireachtas is of relevance to any engineer working in energy. Dave Walsh, assistant secretary at Environ, will provide delegates with an overview of the progress being made on climate policy in relation to the legislation and also on wider issues at national, EU and international levels. Economist Colm McCarthy will take on the subject of renewables in a revision of his paper Time to Take a Tilt at Windmills, which called for a stop to building further wind energy generation capacity. Arguing the opposite will be Paddy Teahon, honorary president of the Irish Wind Energy Association and part of the team at UCD’s Electricity Research Centre. Michael McNicholas, CEO of Ervia, will discuss the building Ireland’s gas and water infrastructure to facilitate Generation Z. Other speakers on the topic of energy include Ken Boyne of Wind Prospect Ireland; John Ahern of Indaver, currently Ireland’s only waste to energy generator; and Dennis O’Sullivan of Gas Networks Ireland. You can read a full, feature-length interview with Ken Boyne here. A line-up of all speakers and the conference schedule is available at engineersirelandconference.ie.